Should Rams give Nick Chubb a chance to bounce back in LA?

Chubb is coming off a serious injury and could be a cap casualty this offseason

Last week, I floated Joe Mixon as a possible option for the L.A. Rams to pair with Kyren Williams next season. There are several running backs rumored to be cap casualties this offseason and four-time Pro Bowler Nick Chubb is the latest.

According to Spotrac, Chubb has a $15.825 million cap hit in 2024, which is the third-highest among RBs. The Browns are already in a pickle financially due in large part to Deshaun Watson’s ridiculously stupid contract. Barring a significant restructure of Chubb’s deal, his days are likely numbered in Cleveland, something that fans have not been taking very well.

On February 22, TST’s own Blaine Grisak listed Chubb as a potential cap casualty from very team LA should consider signing. The problem with taking a chance on the former All-Pro is that he’ll likely want to play for a team where he gets a chance to start. That isn’t going to be the Rams as long as Williams stays healthy. Kyren’s injury history is concerning, but Chubb’s is even worse.

During the 2015 season at Georgia, he suffered a serious knee injury that forced him to miss the rest of the year after six games. In 2020, Chubb was placed on IR with an MCL sprain. Then in Week 2 against the Steelers last season, he suffered a torn MCL and a damaged ACL to the same knee he injured with the Bulldogs in 2015.

Chubb is also closing in on 30, an age universally known as a death sentence to NFL running backs. If LA were to sign him, which I’d have no problem with by the way, the front office needs to think twice about it. Between Chubb’s injury history and that of Williams, that is a disaster waiting to happen for the Rams’ backfield. Plus given the significant nature of Chubb’s injury, there’s zero guarantee he’ll be fully recovered or return to form.

At his peak, the Cleveland star was one, if not the best at his position. Per Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports, Chubb has rushed for 6,341 yards and 48 touchdowns in his first five seasons, with his 5.3 career yards-per-carry average being the seventh-best mark in NFL history.

It would be a damn shame if the Georgia product fails to bounce back from his injury. Chubb happens to be one of the best all-around figures in the NFL. The Browns would take a massive dive in the PR department by cutting him. Although, Cleveland’s PR team lost all credibility when the team acquired Watson. What a debacle!

Anyway, I don’t expect this to be a move LA pursues in free agency. No disrespect to Chubb but there’d be far too much risk involved in signing him and the Rams can’t afford that as a team on the rise. However, Chubb bouncing back to his All-Pro form would be an Oscar-worthy moment in a city where anything can happen.