When it comes to building a Super Bowl roster in the NFL, the work never stops, and help can climb aboard at any time. The Houston Texans epitomized this on Monday afternoon, as they signed running back Nick Chubb away from the Cleveland Browns, on a one year, $2.5 million deal, which can climb to $5 million, if Chubb hits certain incentives.
The team announced the signing on their social media platforms on Monday afternoon, first with this graphic below:
Welcome to H-Town, Nick Chubb‼️ pic.twitter.com/TODqUGNMDe
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) June 9, 2025
Then, with this announcement from Chubb himself, a four second video, which by all accounts, is par for the course when it comes to exactly how talkative (or not) Chubb is:
From the man himself 🤘 pic.twitter.com/Qfh3bBJZbG
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) June 9, 2025
Chubb is undoubtedly a huge name, who was beloved in Cleveland, and whose productivity was unquestioned. In his first five seasons in the NFL, Chubb averaged five yards a carry or more each season. However, two games into the 2023 season, Chubb suffered the second catastrophic knee injury of his career (the first was in his freshman year at Georgia in 2015), and it changed the trajectory of his career.
Chubb came back in 2024, played in eight games, and averaged just 3.3 yards per carry, before a broken foot ended that campaign. His contract ran out with the Browns, and now here we are, with Chubb trying to renature some of the old magic. Here are a few thoughts on what, in name at least, is a big signing for the Texans.
For the price, this is a great signingThe length and dollar amount of Chubb's contract make this about as low risk as it gets. For some context, Chubb, a four time Pro Bowler, has a base salary just $500,000 more than journeyman Dare Ogunbowale's base salary. If Chubb gets back to just 75 or 80 percent of the player he was at his peak, he should serve as a great complement to Joe Mixon in a very glitzy 1-2 punch of a backfield. If we're being optimistic here, these knee injuries usually take TWO years to fully recover from, so perhaps the Texans get a big improvement over the 2024 version of Chubb. Either way, if it doesn't work out, there is very little lost on this decision.
Chubb is betting heavy on Nick Caley and Cole PopovichChubb reportedly had other options, options which could have paid him more than the Texans' offer. From a pure on field standpoint, Chubb sees the Texans' offense, with C.J. Stroud pulling the trigger, as a viable offense to put up good enough numbers to get an even better contract in 2026. To that end, this is a big bet by Chubb on new offensive coordinator Nick Caley and newly promoted offensive line coach Cole Popovich. The Texans had a mediocre rushing offense last season, one in which the greatness of Mixon was the reason for most of the big plays. It needs to be more of a group effort in 2025.
What does this mean for Dameon Pierce?
We are a long way now from Pierce's outstanding rookie year in 2022, a season in which he captured the hearts of Houstonians and entered the 2023 offseason as the face of the organization on their collateral and promotional material. Fast forward two years, and Pierce was playing precisely zero snaps in offense in the postseason. However, the team still loves Pierce, even with the two year backslide he's endured. The addition of Chubb crowds depth chart now, to where if Chubb is healthy, there is likely only room for one of Pierce, rookie Woody Marks, and Dare Ogunbowale. I could See Pierce being traded for a late round draft pick in training camp.
The Texans are a destination for players looking for culture and winning
As I mentioned earlier, Chubb had other places he could have gone and made more money, but he chose Houston, despite the Texans' recent sketchy track record of running the football. This speaks directly to the winning culture that DeMeco Ryans and Nick Caserio have been able to build in the two seasons since Ryans' arrival. Chubb's signing here is further reinforcement that the Texans are viewed as a team where veteran players can compete to make deep playoff runs. Of course, now the hard part comes — MAKING an actual deep playoff run.
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