NFL free agency: Meet Browns new running back Nyheim Hines

Now the roster has talent for the return game 

Did you hear it? Were you one of those who uttered that sound? In Week 2 on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers, starting running back Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns had his knee blown out near the goal line by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

A collective gasp rang out in the stadium from the Browns fans who had bought a ticket to the game between division rivals. The gulping sound was unmistakable.

The damage was significant which required surgery as Chubb was then transitioned to IR. Ever since the injury, Chubb has been in rehab.

RELATED: NICK CHUBB INJURY UPDATE

Numerous reports have centered around his rehab, and how the star back is doing. Plus, a prognosis on when he will return. The verdict? Nobody knows.

Will Chubb be ready for training camp? Week 1? Week 3? At all? That’s the deal and the great unknown.

So, if Chubb cannot go leading up to Week 1, and any other games after that, the Browns will need a lead back just like last year after he was injured. Last season, Jerome Ford took the majority of snaps as Cleveland then re-signed Kareem Hunt. Backup Pierre Strong, who came to the Browns in an earlier trade, was regulated to minimal carries for the remainder of the season.

But both Ford and Hunt put up disappointing numbers. This created debate on what the Browns should do going forward into 2024.

Stand pat and wait on Chubb? Bring in another running back who could either be the bellcow? Or maybe become a dependable backup? Re-sign Hunt? Plan on another player becoming the starter for an entire season? Utilize Strong more?

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Those questions were partially answered when Browns GM Andrew Berry signed RB Nyheim Hines away from the Buffalo Bills on the second day of the legal free agency period on March 12.

But who is he? And what is this? No stats at all from last year? Why? What does he bring to Cleveland’s roster?

Beginnings

Hines and his twin sister Nyah grew up in Garner, North Carolina, and attended Garner Magnet High School. He ran track and played running back, defensive back, and ran back kickoffs and punts.

As a senior, Hines gained 2,118 yards in a single season on 299 carries and scored 12 touchdowns. He was named to the MaxPreps Junior All-American Team and also named the Raleigh News & Observer Male Athlete of the Year. He was also named to the Associated Press All-State Football Team and the 2013 Raleigh News & Observer All-Metro Team.

Hines earned All-Academic honors each of his three seasons with Garner in football and track.

At the conclusion of his high school career, he had gained 6,242 rushing yards and 7,299 all-purpose yards and scored 126 touchdowns. Twice he scored seven TDs in a game which is one of 15 school records he still holds.

The line for his college services was down the driveway, along the sidewalk, and around the corner. He had offers from Virginia Tech, Tennessee, North Carolina State, Duke, East Carolina, Wake Forest, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Miami, North Carolina, Clemson, Florida State, and South Carolina.

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After his official and unofficial visits, he chose North Carolina State where he could run track in the spring and play football in the fall. He grew up wearing the red, white, and black of the Wolfpack, and was his lifelong dream. His twin was a track star and enrolled at NC State as well with events in the 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash. She was a conference champion and was named Garner Magnet High School track team MVP all four years.

Jacoby Brissett was the quarterback at NC State and two veteran running backs were starting. The coaching staff had Hines play receiver and backup running back in his freshman year where he played sparingly with 20 receptions for 256 yards, and 48 attempts for 243 yards with two total touchdowns. In his sophomore campaign, he was moved to receiver and had 43 catches for 525 yards.

In 2017, Hines was finally moved to his natural position of running back as a junior. He had 197 attempts for 1,113 yards, a 5.6 yards per rush average, and scored 12 touchdowns.

Getting the opportunity to start at running back, he told HighSchoolOT.com:

“I’ve been playing running back my whole life. It’s kind of like riding a bike. I had to get my feet wet, I missed some reads or some blocks, but I think I’m coming full circle with everything. I’m starting to feel like I’m wearing the No. 2 at Garner.”

In all three seasons, Hines was a return man. He had 88 kickoff returns for 2,171 yards, a 24.7 yards per return average, and scored two TDs. He also returned 12 punts for 135 yards, an 11.3 yards per return average, and one touchdown. In track, he placed third in the 60 meters (6.71 seconds), third in the 100 meters (10.34), and eighth in the 200 meters (21.31). His 4X100 relay team earned All-American honors after capturing the ACC Championship title in both 2016 and 2017.

As a senior, he earned All-American honors for the Wolfpack in football and track.

Making money playing football

Despite having an average junior season, Hines (5’-9”, 196 pounds) left NC State and entered the NFL draft. He timed out an incredible 4.38 in the 40 which is usually a huge plus. However, with minimal production in college, he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts.

Brissett had been the QB for the Colts the year before. Indy just grabbed Andrew Luck in the draft as the savior at quarterback while Marlon Mack replaced Frank Gore as the starting RB. What was needed was running back depth and so Hines was drafted. In 2020, Jonathan Taylor was drafted in the first round.

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During his first three years, Hines had just 226 carries for 893 yards with seven touchdowns, 13 kickoff returns for 263 yards, and 73 punt returns for 862 yards with two TDs.

In 2021, the Colts attempted to keep their key players. After Hines made the final roster in the 2021 training camp, the Colts gave him a three-year, $18.6 million contract extension with $12 million guaranteed. At $6.2 million per year, Hines’ extension vaulted him into a place just outside the Top-10 of annual average salaries for running backs.

Many questioned why if Hines had production of just over 2,100 scrimmage yards in three seasons, he was getting a big contract. But the coaching staff of Indianapolis viewed him as an integral part of their offense. In that 2021 season, it was pretty much the same as Hines rushed 56 times for 276 yards and scored two TDs. He played in every game with 16 starts.

In November of the following season, with the success of Taylor, the Colts traded Hines to the Buffalo Bills for RB Zack Moss and a sixth-round pick.

The Bills wanted Hines for his return skills. And the trade paid off. He was a major part of the kickoff return game toward the end of the season as he scored two touchdowns on kickoff returns on 19 returns. Buffalo then gave him a renegotiated two-year, $9 million deal in the offseason.

The accident

His return abilities garnered him numerous special teams accolades which further solidified his importance to the Bills. He was used at RB on occasion as well in his short season in Buffalo and was expected to get more offensive snaps and fill the role of third-down back.

As the 2023 training camp was about to commence two days before Independence Day, Hines had a jet ski accident in which he sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries.

Hines had spent the day with friends on Lake Norman just north of Charlotte. He had been wake-surfing for several hours earlier as the group had the use of a boat and two Sea-Doo jet skis. When his time on the jet skis came up, his machine needed gas. He trolleyed his jet ski over to the marina which featured an outside gas pump out by the boardwalk and got in line with several boats waiting his turn in a no-wake zone.

While waiting, he noticed a boat moving in his direction despite him being stopped. Hines then revved the engine of his jet ski in an attempt to get out of the way and avoid a collision. What happened instead was the direction that he swerved was right in the path of his friend who was riding the other jet ski and supposedly doing 30 MPH.

His friend had swerved at the same time trying to miss the same boat just as Hines did. Except, he moved in that direction and the crash occurred.

Hines shared on Bleacher Report:

“It’s a terrible look, and that’s been real hard. The opportunity I had (this season), and truthfully, not even screwing around on the jet skis. If I was doing jumps or being stupid, I wouldn’t even be really upset (about this). But it’s the fact that I literally wasn’t even riding the jet skis. I was just getting gas.”

For several days, despite being sore, Hines did not think he was badly hurt but had soreness. He iced his knees at night. Five days later, he set up an MRI. The results were a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee.

The first two weeks after the knee surgery were the worst. Hines experienced pain so crippling that he couldn’t even get out of bed. He didn’t want to walk or use vital steps to go to the bathroom. Any movement would make his knee throb. It hurt to sleep. Before the accident, he had only missed one NFL game in his five seasons and now he could barely stand much less walk.

At rehab, when instructed to bend his knee for exercises, Hines would refuse.

The accident caused damage to the tune of $17,000 as Hines suffered what was being called a “significant knee injury” that ended up being a torn ACL and he was lost for the entirety of the 2023 NFL season. He literally lost millions.

Because the injury occurred away from the business of the Bills, they placed him on the NFI list. What happened next was Buffalo wasn’t required to pay him for the entire 2023 season in which he rehabbed and did not play.

Hines explained:

“Honestly, there were times I just wanted to scream and cry. It was just rehab, man, but it was hard as hell. I’m past the worst of it, but Lord have mercy, the worst was terrible. I never took football for granted, truly, but after this, I know what this game meant to me. I did anything to be back.”

Later, Hines hired an attorney to deal with the financial aspects of the accident, and to try to get compensated for the year he missed a salary and explore his legal options.

Slowly, he made progress and walking got easier. Rehab wasn’t the worst thing about his week, and as he listened to his therapists, the knee began to bend.

Obviously, the Bills were not happy with the accident. Hines was their kick returner, and here it was on the eve of training camp. He had just renegotiated his contract.

A need in Cleveland

And now, he is with the Browns. He signed a one-year deal for $3.5 million and is completely healthy.

But keep this in mind: Hines was signed primarily as a kick returner.

He is familiar with Browns special teams coach Bubba Ventrone when the pair was with Indy. He was considered one of the best returners available in free agency this year.

The Browns have tried to address the returner issue with two players who could – and would have – solved the issue. However, both players became hurt and thus were worthless.

Speedster JoJo Natson signed a one-year in 2020 to return punts and kickoffs but tore an ACL. Then Jakeem Grant was brought in after a stellar return career with the Chicago Bears who had numerous electric punt returns. But his story was the same as he injured his Achilles tendon in 2022 and then was diagnosed with a ruptured patellar tendon in the preseason of 2023.

Others were tried at either the punt returner or kickoff return position with limited results: Jerome Ford, Jaelon Darden, Mike Harley, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Demetric Felton, and David Bell.

Cleveland has just signed a run game specialist to help this year’s running attack. Hines is a good pass catcher and hard runner with versatility and reliability.

And Hines will get some carries but his value to this team, and the reason he is a Cleveland Brown, is to return kicks. He brought Buffalo fans Top-5 moments in Bills history with his electric kickoff returns.

Hines fills a need that the Browns have tried for years to solve.