FILE – Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb (24) is helped onto a cart after being injured on a tackle by Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick during an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Monday , Sept. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, FIle)

BEER — Nick Chubb’s latest view of the Steelers came through teary eyes as he sat on the back of a cart being wheeled off the field.

He will see them again on Thursday under much better circumstances.

Chubb will face Cleveland’s bitter rival for the first time since last year, when the Browns running back suffered a second traumatic left knee injury – ending his season, threatening his career and upsetting teammates.

While other players might be looking for revenge, not Chubb. Not his style.

“It’s the same normal game for me, pushing the same way, and I’m looking forward to going out there and playing against a great team.” Chubb said Wednesday, dismissing any thoughts of redemption. “That’s how I am.

“It’s a football match. I have to go out there and play, so no matter who we play or what we face. I’m always in the same mindset.”

What started as a routine run game in Week 2 last season in Pittsburgh turned into anything but normal for Chubb.

Taking a handoff and cutting inside the Pittsburgh 5-yard line, Chubb was hit from the side by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who drove his shoulder into Chubb’s knee, bending it grotesquely in the opposite direction.

Chubb never called it a dirty hit. He also hasn’t heard from Fitzpatrick since.

“I spoke to him on the field when it happened,” he said. “That’s about it.”

Chubb had surgery a few weeks later to repair his torn medial collateral ligament, meniscus and medial capsule. Two months after that, Chubb underwent a second surgery to repair his ACL, which he also tore while at Georgia in 2015.

It seemed unrealistic when the Browns announced they expected Chubb to return at some point in the 2024 season.

But after seeing his unmatched work ethic for six years, they knew better than to doubt him, and when Chubb started running earlier than expected this spring, it was only a matter of of time until No. 24 is back in Cleveland’s backfield.

His inspired comeback — Chubb missed the first six games — was one of the only positives in a losing season for the Browns (2-8).

“It’s amazing to see him here in general,” star defensive end Myles Garrett said. “To have that determination, to say ‘this is going to be another bump in the road, he’s not going to stop me, he’s not going to pull the line here’ and to keep working on his (back) day in and day out to get back on this field and play a game he loves and move the way he does.

“The guy is one of the most athletic people on the field every time he steps on. And to even get back to 99% of that, 95% of that is a hell of a lot of work and he’s done everything he can to put himself in a position to make some huge plays for us and be that cornerstone that he always. it was. So a tremendous amount of respect.”

It’s mutual from the Steelers. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin calls him “Mr. Chubb.”

“I got so much respect for his game and his body of work and his capabilities.” Tomlin said. “From a footballing point of view, man, it’s really good to see him again. But from a guy who’s competing against him this week, obviously he’s got our attention.”

The Browns intentionally eased Chubb back, managing his workload closely. His longest run is only 15 meters, but he has had moments where he has looked like his old self.

Guard Joel Bitonio vividly remembers last season’s last run and is relishing every opportunity Chubb has now.

“It’s just the person he is, the work he puts in,” said Bitonio. “You talk about what it takes to be a great teammate. He has all those qualities. He’s a friend and you never want to see a guy go down, so that stuff hurt, especially the injury. It was definitely emotional, but I’m excited he’s back playing and I hope he continues to build and get back to that Nick Chubb style of running.”

NOTES:

Garrett (hip) did not practice Wednesday but is expected to play. … The Browns placed LT Dawand Jones (broken foot) on injured reserve and signed LT Geron Christian from the Rams’ practice squad. He started nine games for Cleveland last year. … LT Jedrick Wills Jr. said he and the coaching staff are on the same page after his comment last week that he did a “business decision” to miss a recent game with a knee injury. “It probably rubs a lot of people the wrong way,” Wills said. “I mean, it is what it is. Everyone has heard me explain what I said, so I don’t really care, to be honest.”