Nick Chubb retires after NFL career that began on a Hall of Fame trajectory but was derailed by injuries

A stellar career seemingly ended for Nick Chubb after that catastrophic injury in 2023, but one of the NFL’s most dominant running backs refused to go out like that at age 28. He is instead going out healthy and on his own terms at age 30.

Chubb on Friday night announced what he himself knew was inevitable years ago: He is done. He is now retired from the NFL.

“Today’s the day I’ve been avoiding for a while,” Chubb wrote in a farewell missive on Instagram. “Twelve-year-old me could never imagine this day, and 30-year-old me is wondering where all the time has gone.

“I’ve known for some time now, but I’m finally ready to share that I’m done playing football. I wanted to end my career on a healthy note, along with a winning season, and I was able to do that.”

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This is a true story: In the spring of 2018, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick went to the University of Georgia campus and watched both Chubb and Sony Michel work out for scouts.

He selected Michel with the 31st pick of the first round to be his running back.

Chubb was selected four slots later by the Cleveland Browns and over the next five seasons made Belichick’s choice look like a mistake.

Chubb rushed for 996 yards as a rookie in ’18 despite starting only nine games.

Then, starting in 2019, Chubb established himself as one of the NFL’s premier running backs, producing four consecutive 1,000-yard-plus seasons, averaging over 5 yards per carry in each of those seasons, and being selected to four consecutive Pro Bowls.

Chubb never won a rushing title, but came closest in 2019, finishing second to Derrick Henry, who won the crown on the last day of the season by gaining 211 yards.

Through his first five seasons, Chubb gained 6,341 rushing yards, scored 48 rushing touchdowns and boasted a remarkable 5.2 yards per carry.

The guy was on a Hall of Fame career trajectory.

Nick Chubb #24 of the Cleveland Browns is carted off the field after sustaining a knee injury during the second quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on September 18, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

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But that changed dramatically in September of 2023 when he suffered a devastating injury to his left knee against the Steelers that required two surgeries and cost him the remainder of that season and part of the next.

Chubb had previously torn multiple ligaments while at Georgia so he knew what a comeback entailed.

But when he returned in 2024, he wasn’t the same. And even that diminished player had another injury when he broke his foot, prematurely ending his season once again.

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“The only thing I could control after hurting my knee twice was getting back up, getting back to work, and getting back on the field,” Chubb wrote in his farewell post. “And I was able to do that both times.”

Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb (24) rushes during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

The Nick Chubb story includes physical and emotional pain in large swaths. It seems like he had a career filled with setbacks.

That’s not how he sees it.

“I say this to all my brothers still on the field, still in the heat of it,” Chubb wrote. “There’s a life waiting for you after football, too. And health is the real wealth.

“I end my career in a great place. Even though there are some things I wish had happened differently, I can say that I have no regrets.”

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