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Daniel Oyefusi, ESPN
CLEVELAND — Browns running back Nick Chubb fractured his foot Sunday in the third quarter of Cleveland’s 21-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said.
The injury ends Chubb’s season with three games remaining.
Stefanski said he believed Chubb’s foot was stepped on. Chubb’s final play came with 10:59 left in the third quarter, one play after an 8-yard run.
Chubb missed the first six games of the season while rehabbing the serious left knee injury he suffered in Week 2 of the 2023 season. In eight games, Chubb rushed for 332 yards and scored four touchdowns (three rushing). . In his return from injury, he averaged career lows in yards per carry (3.3), yards before contact per carry (1.25) and yards after contact per carry (1.72).
Chubb, a four-time Pro Bowl running back, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. He said earlier this week that he would like to finish his career with the Browns, who selected him with the 35th pick in the 2018 draft.
“I can’t express how much I respect him as a person, what he means to this football team,” Stefanski said. “I am very, very disappointed by this injury. It doesn’t change the fact that he continues to inspire this football team with the way he approaches each day. And I know this is another obstacle he will overcome.”
Stefanski also did not commit to the Browns’ starting quarterback after benching Jameis Winston, who contributed to three of Cleveland’s six turnovers on Sunday. Second-year player Dorian Thompson-Robinson replaced Winston with 7:57 left in the game after Winston’s third interception. It was Winston’s NFL-leading 12th interception since taking over as a starter for the injured Deshaun Watson in Week 8 and Winston’s third three-interception game this season.
“With any decision, I’ll work on those types of things,” Stefanski said. “This is not about one person. I want to make it very clear. Jameis does a great job preparing for these games. He’s fighting until the end and I appreciate that, but we’ll make that decision later.”
Thompson-Robinson, a 2023 fifth-round pick who started three games as a rookie, completed 4 of 9 passes for 18 yards and threw an interception on Cleveland’s final drive. He also rushed three times for 16 yards.
The Browns are 2-5 in games started by Winston, who completed 61.1% of his passes for 2,121 yards and 13 touchdowns.
“You need the quarterback to protect the ball to give your team a chance to win, and leadership decided my time was up,” Winston said.
“I like to throw the ball,” Winston said later. “I have to be more precise with my passes and I just have to give ourselves a better chance.”
