Browns running back Nyheim Hines is not participating in organized team activities as he recovers from a torn ACL. He hopes to be ready for training camp.
Hines hasn’t played since Jan. 22, 2023, in a playoff game for the Bills in a loss to the Bengals. He missed last season after injuring his knee in a jet ski accident last summer.
He plans to be on the field in Week 1.
“I processed what happened to me not as a blessing in disguise, but as something you learn from,” Hines said last week via team transcripts. “Honestly, this is the hardest thing in my life, and I truly believe that everything is on the other side of hard… So if I can get through this hard part, I think the best times are coming for me. “
Hines’ return skills earned him a one-year contract with the Browns, but he wants to show he’s more than that.
Hines has 1,832 return yards and four touchdowns in his career, and he could be even more of a weapon as a kickoff returner under the new rules. Hines, however, also has 1,205 rushing yards, 1,725 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns from scrimmage in his career since the Colts drafted him in the fourth round in 2018.
“I think people kind of forgot that in Buffalo I was traded. I only played 10 games there, I had to learn a new attack [and then] I didn’t get the opportunity to play last year,” Hines said. “So I’m really excited to go out there and prove what an offensive threat I am. And I’m as big a threat on offense as I am in the return game, whether it’s passing, receiving, shooting or empty.”
Browns starting running back Nick Chubb is recovering from a knee injury that ended his 2023 season in Week 2. Jerome Ford and D’Onta Foreman are also on the depth chart ahead of Hines as he competes for time game and ringtones.
