Why isn’t Nick Chubb playing for the Browns in the season opener against the Cowboys?

From Tom Brady’s television debut to the return of starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, there are plenty of talking points surrounding the Cleveland Browns’ Week 1 date with the Dallas Cowboys. Yet, perhaps one of the most significant of them all is the fact that Nick Chubb remains on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP).

Deshaun Watson is back but Nick Chubb is out

The Cleveland Browns will host ‘America’s Team’ on Sunday afternoon which means they can expect a league-leading television audience of 25 million viewers. Indeed, that’s what the Dallas Cowboys guarantee when they’re in town. Adding even further intrigue is the fact that the legendary Tom Brady will be guiding those viewers, as he steps into the booth for the first time to make his broadcasting debut with FOX Sports.

Now, where the field is concerned, it’s got to be said that despite the more prestigious reputation of their opponents on Sunday, the Browns are coming off an encouraging performance last season, one that saw them ride the NFL’s highest-rated defense all the way to the playoffs. To be clear, the Browns used five different quarterbacks during that run, making the achievement all the more impressive. That of course brings us to Deshaun Watson. To say it’s been a roller coaster ride for the 28-year-old would be an understatement.

First, there was his then record-setting contract that included $46 million in guaranteed money annually. Then came the controversy surrounding sexual misconduct allegations against him which resulted in an 11-game suspension and sparse appearances across two seasons. Lastly, there was his elbow injury which led to season-ending surgery last November. According to reports, Watson’s recovery has gone exceedingly well such that word from the training ground is that he’s back to his best. “I challenged myself to get back to this moment right now, and I wanted to make every throw in the spring,” Watson said. “I did that.” Rhetoric aside, if Watson can stay healthy there is no reason to believe that the Browns can’t make a deep run this season.

Now, while the Watson situation is clearly a reason for Browns fans to be happy, there is a trade-off in that star running back Nick Chubb is set to miss at least the first four games of the season. If you’ve been following then you will know that the 28-year-old is currently recovering from the second major knee reconstruction of his career, one that required two surgeries including the ACL in December which typically requires roughly nine months to heal from. There was also a torn MCL and medial capsule to deal with. What this means is that Chubb isn’t likely to return until Week 8 at the earliest. While it’s true that his progress has left Browns’ staff amazed - see above - the consensus is that they want Chubb for the long haul and so have decided to give him every opportunity for a full recovery. To that end, it will be Jerome Ford who covers in his stead.