Cleveland Browns RB Peyton Hillis is Taking the Wrong Road During Contract Dispute

Friday, October 7, 2011

ClevelandBrowns.com

By Bob Evans
Senior Writer

Last season, a little known “throw in” to a trade emerged as a superstar for the city of Cleveland.

When Peyton Hillis developed into one of the NFL’s best running backs last season he wasn’t just a superstar for the Cleveland Browns, he was a superstar for the entire city.

When the Cleveland Browns acquired Hillis and draft picks from the Denver Broncos for first round bust Brady Quinn, nobody really knew what they were getting in the former Arkansas Razorback. The only thing the Browns front office was sure of was they were getting a hard-working, blue collar player who had some success his first year in Denver.

When the deal to bring Hillis to Cleveland happened in March 2010, the city was entrenched in another spectacular NBA season in which the Cavaliers were heading to the playoffs on the back of city superstar LeBron James. However, four months later LeBron took his talents to South Beach and the city was left in shambles looking for a player to rally behind.

That is where Hillis stepped in.

The “White Rhino,” as many people refer to him, lifted up a struggling Browns team and gave the fans something to root for. After having a bad running game for many years since Cleveland's rebirth in 1999, Hillis’ style of lowering his head and bruising his way to 100-yard rushing games was exactly what the city needed—and learned to love.

Despite the Browns finishing the season 5-11, the city embraced Hillis. They loved him so much the entire city got behind him during the Madden 12 voting campaign, and lifted him over the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Michael Vick, en route to being named the Madden cover boy.

Related: Peyton Hillis' Madden 12 Cover Finally Revealed

But now, Hillis and his agent are testing the patience and love of the fans by releasing contradicting stories to the public about why he did not play against the Miami Dolphins in Week 3, and taking their contract negotiations public isn’t going to end the same way it did for Josh Cribbs before last season.

Related: Pat Shurmur Has Big Things in Store For Josh Cribbs

There have been multiple reports his new agent, the third he has had in four months, stated he advised his client not to play in Week 3 with strep throat. Nobody doubted Hillis’ devotion to the team when he could not go, but when an agent comes out and says “he advised his client not to play,” that is going to draw criticism from the fans and media—especially when everyone knows Hillis is seeking a contract extension for his performance last season.

Related: Browns Talking Contract Extension with RB Peyton Hillis

With all of the drama circling around Hillis and the Browns the obvious question to be answered is, where do the sides go from here? The best answer is, not down this road currently being taken by Hillis and his agent.

There have been reports Hillis and his agent could demand a trade, however based on Hillis’ tweets today, I would have to say that is probably not an avenue he wishes to explore. His first tweet stated, “I love the fans of Cleveland…the city that gave me a chance. I play hard in every play of every game.” His second tweet stated, “if I could have physically played against the Dolphins I would have. I love the city and hope to retire here.”

For those of you who do not follow Hillis on twitter, he is a man of few words. He does not tweet very often, in fact his last tweet came over a week ago; so for him to take to social media to convey this message to the fans shows that the rumors of him wanting a trade are way off base.

This is a tough situation for Hillis, the Browns and the city of Cleveland. After seeing the city’s former “golden child” LeBron jump ship, the last thing the fans want to see is a messy contract dispute between their beloved Browns and new superstar love affair in Hillis. The fans are a very influential bunch when it comes to the Browns, if you don’t believe me just goggle some of the measures the fan base took to ensure Cribbs got a contract. They created facebook pages, got local clothing companies to create shirts saying “Pay the Man” on them and much more.

The best thing both sides can do at this point is to sit down, quit talking to the media about private negotiations and get Hillis’ contact extension done. But in the meantime, head coach Pat Shurmur and the offense need Hillis to get back to his normal load of carries per game. This will show the fans Hillis is fine, both physically and mentally, and will also get the offense back on track—hopefully to their winning ways.


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