Nick Chubb (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

A fascinating trade proposal has the Cleveland Browns sending star running back Nick Chubb to a struggling NFC club in a move that would give their playoff hopes a massive jolt.

Nick Chubb is in his contract year, and it’s unlikely that the Browns will commit long-term to an injury-prone player at a devaluing position. Chubb turns 29 in December (a common age for running backs to decline), and the Browns will need to open up valuable cap space if they end up cutting ties with Deshaun Watson’s toxic $230 million contract.

So it only makes sense for GM Andrew Berry to trade Chubb and get something in return, rather than risk losing him for nothing on the open market. An interesting trade proposal has them accomplishing that goal.

The Athletic’s Jeff Howe put forward a trade idea that would see the Browns deal Nick Chubb to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for 2025 third and sixth-round picks:

“They don’t have the personnel, and Mike McCarthy hasn’t shown a lot of commitment to the ground game. Being completely out of balance has led to three of their games getting out of hand early. Chubb has the star power team owner Jerry Jones covets. Although it’s a risk with Chubb just getting back from a huge knee injury, the reward could be massive if Chubb closes the season as a top-10 back…

Whether or not the Browns are prepared to admit it, they need to give serious consideration to drafting a QB, and the extra third-rounder could aid that endeavor.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones promised his team would have an “all-in” approach to the offseason. He did nothing to bolster the offense and made the head-scratching call to go into the new season with Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle as his top two running backs.

Nick Chubb would immediately slot in as the Cowboys’ new No. 1 RB. Before suffering a gruesome season-ending knee injury in Week 2 last year, he had four straight 1,000-yard seasons. That included a career-high 1,525 yards in the 2022 season.

Nick Chubb Would Give Cowboys The Spark They Need

Dallas has one of football’s worst defenses, and its usually high-powered offense hasn’t scored 30 points since its Week 1 win over the Browns. In addition to the atrocious rushing game, the Cowboys lack a quality No. 2 receiver for Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.

By trading for Nick Chubb, the Cowboys would have a star running back to save the ground game and take some of the pressure off Prescott and Lamb. Jones’ other option is to stand pat and do nothing, which means missing the postseason altogether.