Nick Chubb runs full circle and retires with Browns, who sign beloved running back to 1-day contract

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Nick Chubb had a unique relationship with Cleveland, a football-silly city he grew to adore and one that loved him back.

On Friday, Chubb announced that he was retiring with the Browns, who signed him to a one-day contract so they could celebrate a career that came full circle.

Over seven seasons as a star running back with the Browns, Chubb gave his heart to what became a second home. Now, he'll finish where he started and finally get some closure.

“A special place,” he said. “You've got to be here to see it.”

More at ease with the media than at any time during his playing career, Chubb smiled easily and often, even cracking a few jokes.

It was a day to reflect and remember the greatness of Chubb, a four-time Pro Bowler who rushed for 6,843 yards and scored 51 touchdowns for Cleveland while becoming one of the most beloved players in franchise history.

Selected in the second round of the 2018 draft by the Browns out of Georgia, Chubb ran for 996 yards as a rookie and was seemingly on track to become one of the NFL's all-time greats before suffering a devastating left knee injury in Week 2 against Pittsburgh in 2023.

Much like Hall of Famer Gayle Sayers, whose career was sabotaged by injury, Chubb has never dwelled on what might have been. Instead, he prefers to relish what he did accomplish, on and off the field. Besides the gaudy stats — he's third in team history in yards rushing behind only Jim Brown (12,312) and Leroy Kelly (7,274) — Chubb fostered a number of lifelong friendships in Cleveland.

“I’m still at a good place,” he said when asked about his ranking. “Even beyond that, I was just happy to go out there and play hard for my teammates.”

Few played with more purpose than the 30-year-old Chubb, who will be honored at Sunday's home opener against Carolina. Browns fans will once again serenade him with the same “Chubb! Chubb! Chubb!” chants that would break out whenever Cleveland needed to pick up a first down or score.

Good things always happened with the ball cradled in his arms.

Does he one more game left in in him?

“I got about two plays in me,” he said, smiling as 10 family members sat near him by the dais. “Outside zone, that’s all I got. Maybe a screen.”

Chubb received a hero’s welcome when he arrived at team headquarters on Friday. Inside the building, Chubb was greeted by employees cheering for a player who won people over with his easygoing personality.

“I’m not the best in those moments,” Chubb said, poking fun at his humility. “Everybody was clapping for me. I didn’t know what to do with my hands.”

Later, Chubb attended practice and coach Todd Monken had him address the team.

“It doesn’t take long to know what Nick’s about,” said Monken, who spent the 2019 season on Cleveland's staff. “He’s got to be one of the most respected players in the locker room who I’ve been around.”

Following his knee injury in ‘23, Chubb worked hard to get back. He was never the same.

That burst of speed that allowed him to pull away from defenders had vanished. He gained just 332 yards in eight games before a broken foot ended his 2024 season. The Browns released him and he signed last season with Houston.

Chubb remains grateful his ending as a pro came on his terms, with his one year outside Cleveland only strengthening his bond with the Browns and the city. It didn't take long during the offseason for him to realize he was done.

“I wasn’t playing for Cleveland anymore, so I didn’t feel like playing football,” he said. “It was just a time that I thought I pretty much had done all that I could. ... I feel like I gave it all I had, left it all out there and now it’s just time for me to figure out different things and figure out something else to do.”

On Sunday, he'll get to take a final bow. Maybe with some tears.

"It’ll be emotional for me. I know that,” he said of his return to Huntington Bank Field. “I think for everybody, too, just with how things went here with me, how I had so much success and then just to get taken down like that and then never really come back. It was just kind of a sad ending.

“It’s better closure for everyone just to see me finally back in the stadium and to be in high spirits, be up and walking and moving and just for me to be back in Cleveland — watching the Browns.”

See AP’s full NFL coverage here