BEREA — Browns general manager Andrew Berry understands the cold, ruthless side of the NFL. That doesn't mean he doesn't understand the human side of things as well.

That human side was why Berry let his guard down for a moment during Monday's season-ending news conference when talking about the future of injured running back Nick Chubb with the Browns.

"I would, in terms of Nick moving forward, obviously I understand that's a little bit the elephant in the room," Berry said. "Nick, I can say for myself, no one in the organization — I understand our family — nobody wants to see that carry in Pittsburgh be the last time he carries the ball for the Cleveland Browns. And obviously there are things that we'll have to work through, but that would not be our intention as well. We obviously will work to keep him on the team."

Chubb will be on the final year of the three-year, $36.6 million extension he signed next season. There are, however, two issues conflicting issues.

The first is the fact Chubb has no guaranteed money remaining on his deal, meaning the Browns could cut him to save money on the salary cap. Specifically, they could save $11.825 million against the cap.

The second issue is, as Berry called it, "that carry in Pittsburgh." Specifically, it's the injury to Chubb's left knee he suffered early in the second quarter of the Browns' Week 2 loss at the Steelers.

The first issue made Chubb a potential cap casualty this offseason. The second made any decision on him, short- or long-term, complicated.

Berry's words on Monday sound like a general manager who's going to be willing to work with his star running back to find the right solution. Chubb has had two surgeries on the knee: the first in late September to repair damage to the medial collateral ligament (MCL), the medial capsule and meniscus; the second in mid-November to repair the damage to Chubb's anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

The prognosis from team physician Dr. James Voos, who performed the surgery, remains with a target return at some point this fall.

"I probably came into this year, let's say on a scale of one to 10 in terms of respect for Nick Chubb, it was a 10 and probably coming out of this year it's now a 20," Berry said. "You would've never guessed that Nick was out for the season with how he operated within the building. I mean, it was like he was doing two-a-day practices for rehab."

Chubb was regularly seen around the locker room late in the season walking without the aid of crutches. He has not spoken to the media since before the Steelers game.

However, Chubb did make two very-public appearances during Browns home games. The first was prior to a Week 11 win over the Steelers when he was introduced after the starters were announced, and crutched out of the tunnel to a loud ovation.

The second one came before the Browns' Week 17 playoff-clinching win over the New York Jets. Chubb was the "Dawg Pound Captain" for the game, came out and, prior to smashing a guitar, put on a Batman mask.

"He's still very early in his rehab process, but the tenacity at which he has attacked his rehab and he did everything in his power this year to heal himself but also make a positive impact with the team," Berry said. "It culminated, you guys know, he's not like a super talkative person, but for him to do the whole Batman thing in front of the Jets game, it's like he wanted to do everything in his power to help the team win."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Andrew Berry wants running back Nick Chubb back with Browns