When the Cleveland Browns signed Jack Conklin to be the right tackle for the foreseeable future, many expected Cleveland’s old right tackle to hit the streets. Yet here we are, nearly a week later, and Chris Hubbard remains on the roster.
He’s been usurped as the starter, but that doesn’t mean Hubbard lacks value for the Browns. The key for him is to still have enough value to the team with his $6.5 million (salary plus bonuses) compensation due in 2020. Right now, with only oft-injured Kendall Lamm and Conklin as the tackles on the roster, Hubbard is still worth keeping.
That status will change when (not if, when) the Browns draft their presumptive starter at left tackle in April. At that point, Hubbard becomes a very expensive backup. Anyone who’s watched his struggles the last two seasons as the starting right tackle would have difficulty trusting Hubbard to step in for longer than a spot-start due to injury. He can conceivably also be the top reserve guard, though that’s a steep price tag for a reserve interior lineman.
Keeping Hubbard on the roster right now does the Browns no harm. His roster bonuses are per-game and workout bonuses are shelved while workouts are suspended. Dumping him today would only exacerbate the glaring need at left tackle. That status will change for both Hubbard and the Browns after the 2020 NFL Draft. Until then, don’t sweat his lingering presence in Cleveland.
