RB Nick Chubb is expected to start Browns training camp next week on this list, and what it means if he’s activated

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Nick Chubb got Browns fans and fantasy owners fired up this week by squatting 540 pounds at his high school in Cedartown, Georgia, raising hopes that perhaps he’ll make it back by the start of the season Sept. 8 against the Cowboys.

That may or may not happen, but Chubb will likely be placed on the active/physically unable to perform list next week heading into camp, meaning he can be activated and start participating in team drills if he’s ready, and remain eligible for the opener at Cleveland Browns Stadium. PUP players can work out and rehab with the team, but not take part in team drills.

If Chubb, coming off two surgeries to rebuild his left knee, isn’t ready to execute team drills during camp, which begins July 25 at The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, he’ll be transferred to the reserve/PUP list before the start of the season, meaning he’ll miss at least the first four games — against the Cowboys, Jaguars, Giants and Raiders.

With Chubb, who underwent the second surgery in November to repair his torn ACL, making excellent progress in running, cutting and strength training, it’s actually possible he could make it back for the Cowboys game. But the Browns will also proceed with caution to make sure they have him for the long haul.

“No one on our team ever doubted Chubb,” Deshaun Watson said Wednesday at his 7-on-7 high school tournament at Berea-Midpark High. “If you have any doubt in Chubb, I think you’re supporting the wrong organization. Or anybody on this team. This culture is where it needs to be and it’s going in the right direction. And I think not just me but multiple guys, multiple coaches, and if you don’t see that, then like I said, you’re supporting the wrong organization and we don’t accept any negative energy. All positive and all things like that. That’s what we respect.”

Chubb, who proved all of his doubters wrong the first time around when he came back strong from his major knee injury at Georgia, knows that folks wrote him off for good after he tore the MCL, ACL, meniscus and medial capsule in Week 2 last season in Pittsburgh.

“I use that as motivation,” Chubb said during minicamp last month, which he didn’t participate in. “I see everything. It’s not the first time someone has counted me out, so I’ve been here before, and I’m not really paying much attention to it. But I do see it, and I’m just focusing on getting better.”

Faced with a grueling comeback from his second blowout of the same knee, Chubb relied on the support of his teammates, who dedicated the 2023 season to him, powering their way to a playoff berth despite the loss of him, Watson and other key players.

“Yeah, it was special,” he said. “The team did a great job of being there for me. I was down mentally for a while. Just when you get hurt, I mean it’s one thing. But when you get hurt again and you already know what you’ve got to go through and the entire process, surgery, rehab, it’s a nonstop battle every day. So my team did a great job just being there for me. I was around the building for them and they did a great job, made the playoffs, had a great run.”

If Chubb misses the first quarter of the season, the Browns will rely on Jerome Ford as their workhorse back, with Pierre Strong Jr. backing him up, and D’Onta Foreman playing the Kareem Hunt role.

Of course, Chubb will try to kick the season off right by running out of the tunnel on opening day and firing up the crowd.

“It’s a blessing to play this game and you can’t take it for granted because one play can be all taken away,” he said. “And I’m just blessed to have so much support around Cleveland, the fans, my friends, family, just to keep me uplifted and keep me going.”

He’s one of several Browns players likely to begin the season on PUP, including left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., who underwent surgery to repair torn MCL, and wasn’t ready for minicamp.