2 min read • June 27, 2022
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A major catalyst of the Cleveland Browns’ offensive struggles in a disappointing 2021 season was the inopportunely timed injuries to the running back tandem of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
The two 26-year-old backs played in only seven games together and missed a combined 11 contests, vaulting De’Ernest Johnson into the starting spot and leaving Baker Mayfield to fend mostly for himself.
Those injuries, luckily, won’t bleed into the upcoming season, according to our panel of Pro Football Docs.
For the 2022 season, the hyper-efficient Nick Chubb has an SIC health score of 91 and dynamic 12th man Kareem Hunt has an SIC health score of 94.
Chubb’s nine-point downgrade is not because of any recent issue, the Docs say, but because of the sure-fire lingering consequences from a significant left knee injury Chubb suffered back in 2015 while he was playing at Georgia.
Chubb tore four ligaments and sustained cartilage damage after a gruesome injury in his sophomore season.
He has been managing the residual laxity and wear-and-tear arthritis he has certainly suffered since and has still been one of the best backs in football, rushing for 4,816 yards and 36 touchdowns on 5.3 yards per attempt in his first four years.
However, Chubb’s timeline draws an eerie comparison to former Bulldogs teammate Todd Gurley.
Gurley suffered a major knee injury in 2014 and quickly went from a workhorse back to out of the NFL. In contrast, Gurley had already begun to decline in 2018 after an unspecified knee sprain early in the 17-touchdown season.
Chubb passed the timestamp of Gurley’s breaking point two years ago and worked through a minor MCL sprain in 2020 without showing signs of slowing down.
The dependable and explosive back is once again in contention to lead the NFL in rushing and to be a top-10 fantasy back.
Hunt played in only eight games because of a Week 6 calf strain and a Week 14 high ankle sprain, but he will not have lingering effects from either injury, according to the Docs.
The sixth-year former pro-bowler was on pace for over 1,000 yards rushing and over 450 receiving on 250 touches through six games last season.
Hunt, who missed 13 games in 2018-19 after TMZ released footage of the back assaulting a woman, hadn't missed any games due to injury before the non-contact calf strain.
Coming into a prove-it season ahead of unrestricted free agency next spring, Hunt will not have any health hurdles to begin the year.
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