Cleveland Browns RB Peyton Hillis Should Start Packing His Bags Now
Friday, November 4, 2011
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| ClevelandBrowns.com |
Senior Writer
Whether or not you believe in curses, something changed Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis the moment he was named Madden cover boy back in late April.
Since Lebron James left the hearts and minds of Cleveland sports fans in shambles, the city has been searching for its new hero. Hillis was supposed to be that hero. Although, he apparently missed the memo.
Hillis entered the 2011 season in the final year of his contract. Generally, when an football player is in a contract year, he will go above and beyond to make sure everyone is aware of his value, but he must have missed that memo, too.
Obviously, the best way to get paid is to put up big numbers, but Hillis elected to sit out the Browns' Week 3 game with a case of strep throat. Later news came out Hillis sat on the advice of his agent—his third agent in the span of a few months. Not long after, there were murmurs from the Browns locker room questioning his toughness.
This didn't sound very "blue-collar."
Hillis has played in just two of the Browns four games since the strep throat debacle, most recently sitting because of a alleged pulled hamstring.
For the season, Hillis has carried the ball 60 times for 211 yards and two touchdowns, with an average of 3.5 yards per carry.
According to Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk.com, Hillis turned down $5 million a year offer from the Browns earlier this season. Maybe the Tennessee Titans would pay him more than $5 million a year, but team president Mike Holmgren is smarter than that.
In the NFL, you have to put up big numbers to get paid big numbers, but Hillis clearly put the cart before the horse, which is not surprising given the game of "musical agents" he's been playing. The only reason to go through three agents in a short period of time is because the clock is ticking and your current representation isn't getting you what you want.
Sadly, things have recently gotten so bad between Hillis, the Browns and the city of Cleveland, it might be too late to reconcile—no matter who his agent is.
On Halloween night, Hillis was supposed to be at the local Boys and Girls club to take part in handing out candy to 50-some kids from the Cleveland area, however, the "White Rhino" was nowhere to be found.
It's hard to believe this behavior comes from a guy who was well on his way to becoming Cleveland's new favorite son. You cannot script this kind of stuff.
Kim Kardashian's sham of a marriage seemingly lasted longer than Hillis' popularity in Cleveland.
It has now been seven months or so since Cleveland sports fans banded together to vote Hillis to the Madden cover, yet, it you asked them to do it again, many of them might not.
Unfortunately for Hillis, the moment his management team's faux pas spilled over to the kids was the moment his time in Cleveland may have been given an expiration date.
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