Is Browns RB Peyton Hillis Taking the Wrong Road to a New Contract?

ClevelandBrowns.com

By Bob Evans


Last season, a little known “thrown 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.

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