Nick Chubb May Mask Browns Problems, Don't Expect Him To Solve Them

After more than 397 days, Nick Chubb will play football for the Cleveland Browns, but his presence only serves as a brief distraction from the reality they currently live

Dec 17, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb (24) warms up before the game between the Browns and the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Like a real life Wizard of Oz, Nick Chubb will take the field for the Cleveland Browns on Sunday as a nicely timed distraction from everything brewing behind the curtain in Berea, Ohio.

That's not to say Chubb's emotional return shouldn't be celebrated. As the 28-year-old so eloquently penned in his letter to the fans via the Player's Tribune this week, he was made for Northeast Ohio. The hard working, all about his business, let's his play do the talking star represents the best of this organization. Head coach Kevin Stefanski even admitted as much this week.

"Nick’s a pretty special football player," said the Browns head man. "He’s a pretty special person. I think he embodies a lot of what we want to be as Cleveland Browns, and certainly I think our fans feel that from him."

No one articulated the Nick Chubb experience better than star pass rusher Myles Garrett though.

"I feel like a fan whenever he’s on the field," the reigning Defensive Player of the year said. "He’s as great of a running back as the league has seen in this modern era."

If you asked an organization to build the perfect football player, it would probably be built in the image of Chubb. Doesn't say much in press conferences. Works hard. Dominates on Sundays. He's like a robot built only for breaking tackles and other fan bases spirits.

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Browns fans have always been grateful to witness Chubb's greatness this time of year. That certainly won't be any different this weekend. In retrospect, Chubb's return is a nice distraction from everything else going on with this football team right now.

At the same time, there's something disingenuous about the entire situation. The idea that a 1-5 football team is trotting out their dark knight in shining armor to distract from a putrid start and a controversial quarterback is a Flex Seal meme in the making.

After the Amari Cooper trade Myles Garrett knows nobody in the #Browns locker room is safe. But he made it clear he can't imagine playing anywhere else: https://t.co/jgxOQhTmFS

— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) October 18, 2024

The Browns are the tank of water. Phil Swift is the team's brass. And Chubb is the piece of flex tape, tasked with carrying the heavy burden of holding a clearly compromised tank together.

It will play well this week, with division rival Cincinnati in town and the battle of Ohio as a theatrical stage. Heck, given Kevin Stefanski's history against the Bengals and Myles Garrett's against Joe Burrow, Cleveland may even walk off the field at Huntington Bank Field around 4:00 pm Sunday with a second win under it's belt.

Then the team will spend a week explaining how crucial a division and AFC win was. How their season has somehow been brought back from the dead. How all their hopes and dreams are still within reach. But a win, and the golden goose of "Nick Chubb" can only mask this team's problems for so long.