Browns' Nick Chubb Doesn't Think Minkah Fitzpatrick Hit Was Dirty

The Cleveland running back spoke to reporters for the first time since his injury.

Sep 18, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb (24) is taken from the field on a cart after suffering an apparent injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Browns star running back Nick Chubb has essentially not been seen or heard from by the general football public since suffering a gruesome knee injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers in September. That changed on Wednesday.

Chubb, who was in attendance at Browns minicamp, spoke to the media for the first time since the injury and made his first public comments about it. Specifically Chubb chose to address the tackle Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick made that damaged multiple ligaments in the Browns running back's knee and led to multiple surgeries.

Chubb said he didn't think the hit was dirty and these plays happen sometimes in football.

"I don't think it was a dirty hit at all," Chubb told reporters. "I'm not blaming (Fitzpatrick). It's part of the game."

There was some outcry in the immediate aftermath of the violent collision that Fitzpatrick went lower than necessary and at a bad angle to boot, which led to the severe injury. The safety insisted he was "not a dirty player" and that he was just trying to make a tackle. With Chubb's declaration out in the open, that discussion can be put to bed.

In this same availability Chubb did not give a timetable for his return and simply expressed his gratitude to the Browns organization for keeping him around instead of cutting him loose. It sounds like it'll be a while yet before the electrifying back will be on the field.