Browns open practice window for Pro Bowl RB Nick Chubb

Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb is scheduled to return to practice Wednesday for the first time in more than a year, head coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday.

Chubb is on the injured list as he continues to recover from a torn ACL, ACL and ACL he suffered in Week 2 last year. The injuries required two surgeries and Chubb spent the offseason rehabbing.

This week is the first time he has been allowed to return to the practice field. Once he does, the Browns have up to three weeks to activate him.

“We won’t get too far in the future (when Chubb might be ready to play),” Stefanski said. “He works very hard. The natural progression is for him to start practicing and we’ll see how it goes.”

The Browns have been careful not to publicly provide an exact timeline for Chubb’s expected return, but the team has always listed mid-October as a target date. Chubb was seen practicing multiple times during training camp while members of the team’s medical staff watched, but he has not commented publicly since June.

Chubb said at the time that he was “where I need to be” and would not rush back. He was on the sidelines during games and most days during the regular season he was seen on the practice field as his teammates began their standard sessions. Chubb took a pay cut to remain with Cleveland for the final year of the contract he signed in 2021 and is scheduled to enter free agency after this season.

The 28-year-old Chubb was one of the best running backs in the league when healthy. He averages 5.3 yards per carry for his career and ranks fourth on the franchise’s all-time rushing yards list (just 29 yards behind Mike Pruitt for third).

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The 1-3 Browns started a three-game road trip with a loss in Las Vegas on Sunday. Although Chubb would be eligible to be activated before this week’s game at Washington, he could also miss upcoming games at Philadelphia on Oct. 13 and against Cincinnati on Oct. 20. The Browns have believed since last spring that they would get Chubb back on the field this season, but his exact role and readiness to become the team’s primary runner remain uncertain.

Stefanski said running back Nyheim Hines, who is also recovering from a torn ACL and is on the non-football injured list, should also return to practice this week. Assuming that is the case, he would be on the same three-week schedule as Chubb for a roster decision.

The Browns added Hines and D’Onta Foreman to their running back room in the offseason with the expectation that Chubb would miss at least the first month of the season. Jerome Ford was the team’s primary running back through the first four games, a role he assumed last September after Chubb’s injury.

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(Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images)