CLEVELAND, Ohio — Nick Chubb will likely have to find a new home now that fellow running back Jerome Ford has accepted a paycut.

Chubb’s return to the Browns was largely dependent on whether or not Ford accepted the paycut or was traded.

He took the cut on Friday, reducing his salary from $3.486 million to a guaranteed $1.75 million, a league source told cleveland.com. If he had refused to paycut or if the Browns traded Ford, Chubb may have been re-signed.

Ford’s reduction came in the wake of the Browns drafting Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins at No. 33 overall, and Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson at No. 126 overall, thereby completely overhauling their sluggish running game.

Chubb, the Browns second round pick in 2018, has been working hard to come back strong this season, clearing high hurdles in his high school gym in Georgia, and squatting more than 500 pounds.

He posted video of the intense workouts after the draft, to remind the NFL that he can’t be counted out in his bid to come back even stronger this year from the second reconstruction of his left knee in 2023.

But now, that comeback will likely have to take place with another team. The Browns are excited about their two rookie backs, and don’t want to make Chubb the fourth back on the team behind them and Ford, their fifth-round pick in 2022 who led the team with 565 yards on 104 carries (5.4-yard average) and tied Chubb with three TDs.

Browns GM Andrew Berry said on draft weekend of Judkins, who led the national champion Champion Buckeyes with 1,060 yards last season, “rugged run style … Really a bell cow, versatile runner who can run through you, run by you, run around you.”

He said of Sampson, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year last year who rushed for 22 touchdowns, “22-year old running back. I think he really compliments our room nicely. Runs a really tough and physical style despite being a little bit undersized. He’s a player who has A+ makeup and a player that we think has untapped potential in the passing game.”

 

 Browns assistant GM Glenn Cook, when describing Judkins, ripped a page out of the Chubb playbook.

“He’s so big, he’s so strong,” Cook said. “You think about when you get down to the goal line the field shrinks, and you want a guy who can honestly just power through tackles and change the line of scrimmage on his own. Sometimes you just can’t block it perfectly. The defense tries to tighten up. He’s just really talented. Like you talk about a kid, he’s 5-11, 220, squats over 600 pounds, runs under 4.5.

“We’re playing in a division where there’s some really good defenses that we’re going to face, and their mantra is to stop the run game and get after the quarterback. So, when you can have someone who can be just as physical as the guys he’s going against, it only helps.”

Former Browns Director of Player Personnel Dan Saganey, now with the Titans, noted the one-two punch they’ll provide.

“When you pair the two of them together, you have two fast guys that run hard, run with energy,” he said. “Both guys are kind of what I would describe as like Energizer Bunny type of runners but also have power and three down value so they can help you in both phases. Both guys have really natural, vision, strength, acceleration, speed, everything that we look for in a ‘back in our system. So should pair well together.”

He compared the two to the dynamic duo the Browns had with Chubb and Kareem Hunt in their prime.

“Judkins has proven to be super productive in (scoring),” Saganey said. “He’s got good power behind him. And then with Dylan, same thing. [He] has speed, has touchdown production. We’re always looking for guys that can score touchdowns at any offensive position. These guys both have proven that against the highest level of competition in the country.”

 This post will be updated.

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