Jerome Ford Says Kareem Hunt Filled Nick Chubb's Locker Room Void, 'Brought The Juice'
Browns' Jerome Ford Kareem Hunt Filled Nick Chubb's Locker Room Void 'He Brought The Juice Back'
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Jerome Ford says Kareem Hunt deserves big-time props for helping the Browns keep things together following Nick Chubb's devastating injury ... telling TMZ Sports the guy "brought the juice back" after Cleveland's star RB went down.
Ford went in-depth with us on the state of the Browns earlier this week following the team's big win over the Ravens ... and he made it clear to us that Hunt has played a huge role in Cleveland keeping the wheels on despite the loss of Chubb -- both on and off the field.
"When Nick left," Ford said, "it left a gap in the running back room. And Kareem came in and -- I really don't know how to explain it other than to say that he brought the juice back."
You'll recall, after Chubb tore up his knee against the Steelers on Sept. 18 ... Cleveland turned to Hunt on Sept. 20 to bolster its RB corps.
And, according to Ford, the roster move changed everything.
Kareem Hunt TD and some pushups 🙌
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"He came in, joking and playing," Ford said. "And he gave us the juice that we needed to kind of, like, 'Yeah, Nick's down, but we gotta keep pushing.'"
The Browns are 5-2 since Hunt joined the squad ... and in those seven contests, he's scored six total touchdowns.
Ford says Chubb, meanwhile, is doing well in his recovery ... and helping out whenever he can.
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The Cleveland tailback -- who spoke with us just before news of Deshaun Watson's season-ending injury -- also insisted the Browns have a serious drive to be great this season ... saying, "People don't realize how much we want it."