Nick Chubb Expected To Open Season On Cleveland Browns PUP List Per Report

Cleveland's star running back will have to miss the first four games of the regular season via the designation

Browns running back Nick Chubb is all smiles on the sideline during minicamp, Tuesday, June 11, 2024, in Berea. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Cleveland Browns 53-man roster will start to take shape over the course of the next 24-plus hours. The first version of that roster won't include Nick Chubb.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Browns are expected to begin the season with Chubb remaining on the physically unable to perform list. It's the same designation Chubb has had throughout all of training camp, while he continued his rehab from that gruesome knee injury sustained in Week 2 last season.

Cleveland is expected to leave Nick Chubb on the Physically Unable to Perform List, which means he is ineligible to be active during the first four games of the season, per league sources. pic.twitter.com/hegxTKBgJ7

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 26, 2024

By being placed on the team's PUP list to start the season Chubb will be required to miss at least the first four games of the regular season. During that time he won't count against the 53-man roster. That would put him in line for a potential return in Week 5 against the Washington Commanders, however, the Browns could always end up keeping Chubb out for longer.

One of the biggest differences between the PUP list and the IR in the NFL is that there's no 21-day window for the player to practice leading up to being activated to the active roster for players on the PUP list.

Following the injury against Pittsburgh in Week 2 last season Chubb went on to have two different surgeries to repair the ligaments in his left knee. The second of those was in mid-November as he's been slowly rehabbing ever since.

During training camp, the 28-yer-old has been seen on multiple occasions going through personalized on field workouts. While it's been a good sign of Chubb's progress from the grotesque ailment, the Browns want to be sure he's fully healed and ready before letting him suit up for games. An understandable approach for one of the franchise's most prominent faces.