An ankle injury kept Browns tackle Chris Hubbard out of the Week One loss to the Ravens. On Thursday night, Hubbard replaced starting right tackle Jack Conklin, who has ankle and finger injuries.
Hubbard performed well as the understudy.
“No sacks, the way we rushed the ball, Chris coming off of an injury, I could not be more proud of Chris Hubbard, impressed by Chris Hubbard,” coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters after the 35-30 win. “He is a good person. He is a good football player. I just think the world of him. . . . [W]e just did not feel like it would be right to put Jack out there. Jack fought his butt off in the last game and was not feeling great with that ankle, and he just grinded. I did not want to put him out there. Sometimes, you just have to protect guys from themselves. He was not totally ready to go for 60-plus plays. I thought it was a prudent thing to not start him and just have him available in case of an emergency.”
It worked, making Hubbard (the starting right tackle for three seasons prior to Conklin’s arrival) another guy on whom the Browns can rely when opening running lanes for Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, the best one-two tailback punch in all of football.