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Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry didn’t sound too optimistic about unsigned star running back Nick Chubb making an immediate return to the club.

The writing likely was on the wall when the Browns selected Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft and Tennessee rusher Dylan Sampson in the fourth. They also recently renegotiated the contract of fellow running back Jerome Ford.

“I wouldn’t rule anything out, but I would say it’s probably increasingly unlikely,” Berry told 92.3 The Fan on Friday morning. “I’d say maybe a return is less likely, at least in the short term, with us right now.”

Berry added that “we haven’t necessarily been in strong communication after the draft.”

Chubb, 29, has played in only 10 games over the past two seasons due to knee and foot injuries. He rushed for 332 yards and three scores in eight starts in 2024.

A four-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time 1,000-yard rusher, Chubb ranks third in franchise history with 6,843 rushing yards behind Pro Football Hall of Fame members Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly.

Judkins led the national champion Buckeyes with 1,060 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns last season.

Sampson, the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year last year, set school single-season records for rushing yards (1,491) and touchdowns (22).

Ford, 25, rushed for 565 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games (six starts) last season, adding 37 catches for 225 yards.

He has 1,390 rushing yards, 544 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in 44 games (18 starts) since the Browns picked him in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

–Field Level Media