Former Cleveland Browns star Nick Chubb had a message for his peers as he celebrated his lengthy NFL career.
The 30-year-old running back announced his retirement on Friday night via an Instagram post. Chubb surprised several fans as he revealed he had “known for some time now” that he was planning to hang up his cleats.
Chubb’s appeared to be staying in game shape despite remaining a free agent as training camps across the league began.
“Today’s the day I’ve been avoiding for a while,” Chubb said in his goodbye message. “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 #1 promise I made was that I would always stay true to who I am and never forget the things that made me, me.
“That promise meant always being the hardest working person, no matter where I was or what the circumstances were.”
Chubb credited his mom, dad, and grandma for instilling discipline in him at a young age, and his high school coaches for raising his personal standards when on the football field.
Chubb then spoke about how his mindset on his injuries changed from when he was a teenager, versus his recent injury spell at 28. It’s a difference that shaped his decision to retire, prompting him to address his fellow NFL players directly.
“I will tell you, going through a devastating knee injury at 19 is a lot different than going through one at 28.” Chubb continued. “At UGA, when it first happened, I was young, naive, and didn’t fully understand the extent of the injury. I believe that played a part in me being able to bounce back and eventually return to form.
“At 28, it’s different. You understand that you have the rest of your life to look forward to. And that’s exactly what I started to do.
“I say this to all my brothers still on the field, still in the heat of it: There’s a life waiting for you after football, too. And health is the real wealth. I end my career in a great place.”
Chubb suffered a serious knee injury in 2015 that ended his sophomore season at Georgia early. Nearly a decade later, Chubb tore his MCL and damaged his ACL during a 2023 contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While he was able to recover from both injuries, an older Chubb clearly has a different understanding of the physical toll football was placing on his body.
The Browns selected Chubb in the second round of the 2018 draft. The Georgia alum spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Browns, earning four straight Pro Bowl nods from 2019 to 2022.
Chubb’s lone year away from Cleveland ended up being his last one in the NFL. He signed a dirt-cheap one-year contract with the Houston Texans last June and rushed for 506 yards and a team-best 3 rushing touchdowns.
Chubb tallied 7,349 rushing yards and 54 rushing touchdowns over 100 career NFL games.
