Nick Chubb’s Injury Was So Gruesome ESPN Refused To Show The Replay

NFL is an intensely physical sport, we know this. But sometimes, a player gets hurt and you can’t help but feel sick to your stomach. Nick Chubb’s injury on Monday, September 18, 2023, was one of those moments.

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Chubb, born December 27, 1995, played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs at the University of Georgia from 2014 to 2017. He had a standout career, setting several records and earning numerous awards, but suffered a catastrophic knee injury in 2015, tearing his MCL, LCL and PCL. He recovered though, and in the 2018 NFL Draft, he was selected in the second round, 35th overall, by the Cleveland Browns where he has spent his entire career.

Thanks to his raw power and acceleration, Chubb is considered among the Browns’ best offensive players and a reliable fantasy football option. However, after Monday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the rest of the season is seriously in question after a gruesome injury that saw him carted off the field. Here’s what we know about Nick Chubb’s injury.

Nick Chubb’s injury

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On Monday, September 18, 2023, Nick Chubb was hit by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in the second quarter, bending Chubb’s left knee inward in a direction it is not designed to go. Quickly after, Chubb was seen on the field grabbing his knee in obvious pain as medics ran onto the field. He was carted off and ruled out for the rest of the game.

“Nick’s got a very significant knee injury,” Browns Coach Kevin Stefanski said in a postgame briefing Monday night. “He’s a great football player as we know, but he’s an even better person, so we will support him every step along the way.” When asked if he expected Chubb to be out for the rest of the season, Stefanski said, “I do.”

Chubb’s injury was so gruesome that ESPN refused to show it in the replay, but you can hear the crowd at the game reacting to it in this tweet, and, so long as you’re not eating, you can watch it in slow-motion here.

“It’s a blow for the whole team and we don’t want his injury to be in vain,” Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said in a postgame player press conference. “We got to push on, that’s what he’d want us to do. And if he had any choice in the matter, that’s what he would do. Just gotta continue to fight and use it as motivation.”

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson observed that Chubb’s injury prompted “a lot of flashbacks to the previous one he had in college,” when the then-rising star running back suffered a dislocated left knee—yes, it’s the same knee this time around—and tore several ligaments: his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) located at the center of the knee; posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) located at the back of the knee; and lateral collateral ligament (LCL) which connects the thigh bone to the fibula, i.e. one of your calf bones. The injury threatened to end his football career and this one may too.

“It was tough honestly,” Watson told reporters after the game. “I know he don’t have a ‘C’ on his jersey, but he’s a captain, he’s a leader, he’s the definition of this team, of this city, of this organization. We got some holes to fill for him.”

Immediately after the injury, NFL insider Ian Rapoport tweeted: “RB Nick Chubb suffered a what is believed to be a significant and season-ending knee injury against the #Steelers, sources say, including multiple torn ligaments. He’ll have tests done. But unfortunately, essentially what it looked like.”

How long is multi-ligament knee injury recovery?

Multi-ligament knee injuries (MLKIs) are highly complex injuries “with associated complications and often present with difficult management strategies,” according to Orthopedic Reviews. Recovery from an MLKI can take nine to 12 months or longer, depending on the procedure and patients can expect to regain knee range of motion within 12 weeks after surgery. After that, strengthening exercises can begin. Maximum improvement can be expected 8-12 months after the repair.

This is all speculative, of course, and considering he’s had this sort of injury before on the same knee, we hate to say it but it might be a career-ender.

2023 NFL injuries so far

Chubb’s is the latest in what has been a bloodbath of a 2023/24 NFL season, with several high-profile players out for several weeks if not the entire year.

Notably, veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn left Achilles tendon just minutes into his debut game for the New York Jets that likely ended his season, though he’s targeting a return to action during the playoffs after undergoing an innovative surgery, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report said.

Star running back for the New York Giants Saquon Barkley was expected to miss a few weeks due to a sprained ankle. LA Rams star wide receiver Cooper Kupp was placed on IR after a hamstring injury in week 1, coach Sean McVay said that he hopes Kupp will be ready to play Week 5 against Philadelphia.

Champion tight end Travis Kelce also faced a potentially catastrophic knee injury at practice via hyperextension but managed to dodge an ACL bullet, so to speak, resulting in a bone bruise and missing week one. “I was in on that play, so I was running a route,” teammate Skyy Moore said when asked about Kelce’s knee injury after practice, via The Athletic. “I was talking to somebody, and [Kelce] was limping, just walking off the field. It was a good sign to see him get up by himself and get off the field.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a severe hyperextended knee can lead to an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear, which is generally a season-ending injury for football players: “A hyperextended knee is an injury that happens when your knee is bent backward beyond its usual limit. … It’s possible that an injury can damage one or multiple ligaments in your knee, including during a hyperextension. Severe hyperextensions are common causes of ACL and MCL tears. … Knee hyperextensions range from mild cases that you can treat at home to more severe injuries that will need surgery to repair.”

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