Peyton Hillis
Former Browns running back Peyton Hillis attempted to set the record straight in a lengthy interview with Bleacher Report.
(Joshua Gunter, Plain Dealer file photo)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Peyton Hillis had it all there in front of him. He rushed for 1,177 yards as a 24-year-old running back his first year in Cleveland after arriving here via a trade with the Denver Broncos. Browns fans voted him onto the cover of the Madden video game. His running style seemed perfectly suited for Browns fans.
Everyone knows what happened from there. Hillis couldn't replicate his 2010 season and he was gone at the end of the 2011.
Bleacher Report caught up with the former Browns running back in a lengthy interview posted today titled "The Peyton Hillis Story: From Madden Cover to Outside Looking In."
There is a long section of the story featuring Hillis' rise in Cleveland and his subsequent fall. Among the much-chronicled issues from 2011 -- the suspicion surrounding him missing a game due to mono, his missing of a charity function and his marriage while missing games with a hamstring injury -- is Hillis' version of contract negotiations with the team.
Ultimately, Hillis believes that the Browns saw him as many other teams had before:
Hillis does accept some measure of responsibility for his rapid decline. He admits that he shouldn't have fired agents or gotten married when he did. He even says he'd apologize to left tackle Joe Thomas if he saw him today. Thomas called Hillis "a terrible distraction in December 2012.
Hillis, though, does still have a soft spot for Browns fans.
Go over to Bleacher Report to read the full story.