Browns RB Nick Chubb will go on IR with an MCL injury

The Cleveland Browns confirmed on Monday that starting RB Nick Chubb has an MCL sprain, and that the team would place him on injured reserve. This year, the IR list means that a player will miss a minimum of three weeks. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, it is expected that Chubb will miss the next five games:

I’m no doctor, but I believe it. I had a self-diagnosed MCL sprain a few years ago when I came down wrong on one leg during a basketball game. It felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to part of my knee when I landed and sniped the leg right out, and the pain was near the upper calf/back of the knee area. While the pain subsided pretty quick, every few steps I would take, I would “feel” something there, so mentally, I was always concerned that if I pushed too hard, I would turn the injury from a sprain to a tear. It took a little over a month for that feeling to go away, and for my mental confidence to return.

Fortunately for Cleveland, they still have RB Kareem Hunt and one of the best run blocking offensive lines this league has seen. Even RB D’Ernest Johnson came in and easily led the team in rushing last week. It definitely sucks to lose Chubb, but having the personnel that the Browns have is also a bit of a luxury for this type of situation.