"Hear you're in the market for a running back..."

There is no timeframe on grieving, and believe me, Browns fans are allowed to be grieving the loss of Nick Chubb. Someone on Twitter/X, posted something along the lines of "Nick Chubb is America's running back," and it truly is a real sentiment. We got to watch one of the best running backs in the game do it in our team's uniform week in and week out and that was violently ripped away from us. So if you need time to grieve, grieve. We lost a part of our fandom this week, and while you might say "Chubb is under contract next year", anyone who saw that injury and the slowed-down videos knows that is not something you easily come back from. Given Chubb's injury past on that leg, as well as his age, it's entirely possible he's played his last down of football ever.That all being said: it's only Week 3 now, and there is more football to be played. So in the fashion of one of the best presidents this country has seen, Jed Bartlet, I ask this: what's next? What are the next moves for Cleveland with regard to its running back room? Jerome Ford is the starter going forward, at least for the next 2-3 weeks until whoever is brought in is up to speed. But they have to bring in someone, as second-year player Pierre Strong is the only other RB on the roster as it stands today. Let's talk about Ford though, quickly: he is also a second-year player, appeared in 13 games last year, mostly as the kick returner, a role he had been doing this year and likely will be giving up going forward. This season was meant to be his breaking-out year working behind Chubb, and through two games, Ford has rushed for one touchdown and 142 yards on 31 carries (4.6 Y/A) while catching three of four targets for 25 yards. Those numbers, both touches and yardage, are bound to jump drastically as the lead back. Ford was a fifth-round pick a year ago, and has the ability to crash through lines and catch the ball effectively out of the backfield, but he is raw.So who is available for general manager Andrew Berry to key on? There are many different paths he could take: signing a street free agent, bringing in a player from their own or some other team's practice squad, or going big name and trading for a running back. Let's highlight some of the bigger names that could be available:Jonathan TaylorWe will get the big one out of the way first. JT is the biggest name out there in the running back department, and when he's eligible to come off the PUP list, he's gonna look like the last big screen TV at Walmart on Black Friday. Miami, Green Bay, and others were vying for the veteran's services before the cutdown day debacle began, but ultimately nobody was willing to pay the price Indy wanted for Taylor, and was subsequently placed on the physically unable to perform list. Being on the PUP means Taylor has to sit out at least the first four weeks of the season. He can be dealt while on the PUP list, but he would have to remain on the PUP until past Week 4.Taylor is in the last year of his contract, which is the reasoning behind his holdout with Indianapolis, making $4.3m this season. Any team that deals for the player will likely have to sign him to an extension, which Cleveland has the cap space to do, but regardless, this feels unlikely. It would cost upwards of a 2nd round pick (Indy wanted a 1st preseason, likely the cost has gone down now that we've lost a few weeks of his production) on top of an extension that is likely going to top out the running back market again. All of this again combines up to Taylor not being the guy in Cleveland.Kareem HuntProbably the second most mentioned player on #BrownsTwitter, Hunt is still a free agent despite having some visits in the offseason with teams needing a running back. ((Indianapolis and New Orleans were reported as meeting with him.)) Fans like the idea of Hunt more than the reality of Hunt, being that last year he was incredibly inefficient for Cleveland, to the point where the attempted to deal him and recoup some assets before he hit the free market. Hunt is the poster child of why running backs don't get big second contracts: the position chews you up and spits you out in such a way that you're unusable afterward.Leonard FournettePlayoff Lenny is a 28-year-old free agent without a team and with no viable rumors to his name in the offseason. He spent the last three years in Tampa Bay playing for Tom Brady's Buccaneers, but rookie Rachaad White supplanted the round mound of the ground game this season. He appeared in 16 games in 2022, rushed for 668 and three touchdowns, catching 73-of-83 targets for another 523 and three more touchdowns. Fournette feels like a viable option for Cleveland in bringing him in would only cost money, not picks and cash. Does he have anything left in the tank? Is he in shape? We don't know, and the lack of attention paid to him over the summer is disconcerting.D'Ernest johnsonJohnson is currently residing in Jacksonville and has appeared in both games for the Jaguars this season, but has been scarcely used as the third running back behind Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby. If I had a betting favorite, Johnson would be the one, because of his 1) familiarity with the team, 2) relatively low cost to acquire as well as salary and 3) his success with the team when called upon often in 2021. If you close your eyes, you can easily see a timeshare with Ford and Johnson making a lot of sense for Cleveland.The FieldBasically look at any team and find their second through fourth running back on depth charts, and they could be an option. Bigger names could easily be available via trade, names like Cam Akers, who has worn out his welcome again in Los Angeles and got benched for Kyren Williams, and Rashard Penny, brought in by the Eagles this offseason but has been overshadowed by D'Andre Swift and in-house options like Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott. Cordarrelle Patterson is the 3rd RB in Hotlanta, who are 2-0 and don't need the RB/WR with the emergence of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier. D'Onta Foreman, Zonovan Knight, Ameer Abdullah, Jeff Wilson, Michael Carter, Antonio Gibson, Cylde Edwards-Helaire, and Trey Sermon are all names we've heard of mentioned at some point that could come in and do some things and are at or near the bottom of depth charts on their respective teams.Whoever is acquired, and head coach Kevin Stefanski has said today that they are going to be adding a running back to the roster, is going to be sitting behind Ford for at least Week 3 at home against Tennessee. Chubb's shoes are incredibly hard to fill, and no one will be able to do what he did, but the NFL is gruesome and requires a "next man up" mentality up and down the roster.