The old Nick Chubb was a bulldozing force who could bludgeon defenders with force and sprint away from unlucky defensive backs fruitlessly attempting to trip up the running back in space. That Chubb has been nonexistent since a devastating knee injury early in the 2023 season upended his career.
After signing with the Houston Texans this week, the 29-year-old running back believes he's back to his old self.
"That's all behind me. Injuries happen," he told reporters on Wednesday. "With what I did, it takes about two years to really get back. So, I'm over the hump. Now, I'm feeling as good as I have been in a long time."
Returning in the middle of last season while with the Cleveland Browns, Chubb lacked his former burst and tackle-breaking ability. Unsurprisingly, he averaged a career-low 3.3 yards per carry, rushing for 332 yards and two TDs on 102 carries in eight games.
Chubb is correct in that it generally takes players two years to return to anything close to their previous level. Saquon Barkley's career speaks to that generality.
However, Chubb turns 30 this season, an age where even healthy running backs start to decline, so the question is will he ever reach the highs he showed during his run of four consecutive Pro Bowls in Cleveland?
The Texans inked him to a one-year, $2.5 million deal with a max value of $5 million, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. That prove-it type of deal underscores the unknown with Chubb's recovery.
The back feels like he's fully mended at this stage.
"Probably while I was at home during my offseason training," he said when asked when he felt back to himself. "I hit all my numbers that I usually do in the offseason, so speed and weights and things like that."
In Houston, Chubb joins a backfield led by Joe Mixon, on whom the Texans heavily relied last season. Mixon toted the rock 245 times. The next closest for a back was 40 from both Dameon Pierce and Cam Akers, who was with the club for only six weeks.
If healthy, Chubb should leapfrog Pierce as the first to spell Mixon, with rookie Woody Marks as a potential pass-catching third-down back.
"[I know] the opportunity that I had here with this team, being the up-and-coming team, and the past two years have really turned it on," Chubb said. "So I knew I had a chance to come here, win a lot of games, surrounded by a great group of people."
