The Cleveland Browns’ RB room may be set for the upcoming season.
Drafting Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson was a bold move by the front office, as they could be one of the most dominant one-two punches in the league right out of the gate.
And now that Jerome Ford has agreed to take a big pay cut, he’s going to round out the roster as the third guy in the pecking order.
Notably, that also likely shuts the door on a potential Nick Chubb return.
According to a report by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns could’ve brought Chubb back if Ford hadn’t taken a pay cut, as they would’ve looked to trade him.
“Chubb’s return to the Browns was largely dependent on whether or not Ford accepted the pay cut or was traded. He took the cut on Friday, reducing his salary by about half, from $3.486 million to a guaranteed $1.75 million, a league source told cleveland.com. If he had refused the pay cut or if the Browns traded Ford, Chubb may have been re-signed,” Cabot said.
Ford averaged 5.4 yards per carry last season, but he still didn’t look like the workhorse and dominant running back the team needed.
Granted, he also played behind a struggling and decimated offensive line.
Even so, it became painfully evident that the Browns needed to add more horsepower out of the backfield, and while getting two potential starting running backs might not have been needed, it’s better to have more talent than no talent at all.
With Kevin Stefanski back in charge of the offense, the Browns will most likely return to being a run-heavy and play-action-first team.
As for Chubb, he might not get a chance to finish his career where it all started.
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