Should Cleveland Browns RB Peyton Hillis Start Packing His Bags Now?

ClevelandBrowns.com

By Bear Heiser


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.

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