Nick Chubb has already shown an ability to change games in a hurry, and he’s learning that rosters can change in a hurry as well.
The Browns rookie running back said he was stunned by last week’s trade of teammate Carlos Hyde to the Jaguars, which he learned about by text.
"(He) texted me. ‘Looks like your time’s up. You’re going to get some more carries,’” Chubb said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I kind of just shook it off. I thought he was just saying my time would eventually come and I paid no attention to it. Then my phone started blowing up with texts and social media.
“I looked into it and saw he was traded. I didn’t believe it. I got a call from Duke Johnson. We were surprised. We just talked it out. We didn’t understand why or what happened. It was a shock to everyone.”
Perhaps part of the reason was coach Hue Jackson kept promising to get Chubb more carries, and then kept giving him three carries per game. Chubb more than doubled his season total for rushes last week, with 18 carries for 80 yards against the Buccaneers, a solid 4.4 yards per game average. He had 16 carries for 173 yards entering the game, and while no one thought that 10.8 per carry average was sustainable, it was a signal he needed more chances.
“I know that’s the way that it looks,’' Jackson said of the motivation for the trade being to get Chubb more work. “If you take one player from the equation, the next guy’s going to get more carries.
“That’s natural. Was it the easiest way to do it? I think that there are all kinds of ways to do it, but the bottom line, it wasn’t done.’'
The Browns signed Hyde this offseason at a time when they didn’t know they’d be drafting Chubb, but it quickly became clear he was surplus to requirements, and by clearing the veteran out of the way, they might have helped two teams improve.
