RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Four-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb called it a career Friday night, announcing his retirement from professional football after eight seasons on Instagram. The 30-year-old began his career with the Cleveland Browns after being drafted 35th overall in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Georgia.
Chubb reeled off four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons from 2019 to 2022, which earned him four consecutive Pro Bowl selections. His best year came in 2022 with a career-high 1,525 yards rushing to go along with a career-high 12 rushing touchdowns. That production earned him second-team All-Pro honors. The 2023 season is when injuries began to rob him of his prime years. He tore both his MCL, meniscus and ACL in 2023 after a gruesome knee injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2 that year. Chubb returned to action in Week 7 of the 2024 season before suffering another season-ending injury in Week 15 that year against the Kansas City Chiefs , this time a foot fracture. He was a shell of himself in 2025 with the Houston Texans after the second, significant lower body injury as he rushed for just 506 yards and 3 touchdowns on 122 carries. That's why he called it quits while remaining a free agent two weeks into the 2026 preseason.
"Today's the day I've been avoiding for a while," Chubb wrote. "Twelve-year-old me could never imagine this day, and 30-year-old me is wondering where all the time has gone. I've known for some time now, but I'm finally ready to share that I'm done playing football. I wanted to end my career on a healthy note, along with a winning season, and I was able to do that. At the beginning of this journey, I made many promises to myself. The No. 1 promise I made was that I would always stay true to who I am and forget the things that made me, me. That promise meant always being the hardest-working person, not whether where I was or what the circumstances were."
Chubb's peak of his first five seasons from 2018 to 2022 stands almost without equal in NFL history after he registered 6,341 yards rushing on a 5.2 yards per carry average. He and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown are the only players in league history with 6,000-plus rushing yards and 5-plus yards per carry in their first five seasons, per CBS Sports Research. Chubb's sixth season in 2023 is when his career-altering knee injury occurred.
"In the NFL, I wanted to lead the league in rushing, win MVP and win a Super Bowl for the city of Cleveland," Chubb said. "I wasn't able to accomplish any of those things. ... What's most frustrating but also gives me peace is that I know for a fact I gave it my all."
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