Peyton Hillis did it again. He changed agents for the fourth time since the end of the 2010 season. That has not only made his negotiations with the Browns difficult but has muddied the waters with potential new teams. Why would a player do that?
I cannot be sure but having been party to player negotiations, I have my suspicions.
Many players do not want to hear the truth. In this case Hillis has said he wants to be paid like a top NFL RB like Adrian Peterson or Chris Johnson. The truth is that Hillis had one good season in 2010. He ran for 1,177 yards with a 4.4 yard average. He also caught 61 passes for 477 yards with a total of 13 TDs.
That was a decent season. But it was preceded by a 13 attempt 54 yard season and followed by a 161 rush 587 yard season last year. That is not the stuff of a seven million dollar a year deal let alone any contract near Peterson’s.
The most likely reason he has changed agents so often is that each of the fired reps told him he was never going to get a big deal. When he heard that from the guy that was supposed to negotiate a deal for him, he decided to change agents.
The Browns have offered him a three year deal but it is not anything close to what he is reported to want. Time will tell if he ends up in Cleveland or elsewhere. Today ESPN reported that Hillis was considering retirement from the league to join the CIA. That would have to be as a staffer because his face is on every Madden 2013 game all over the world.
Hillis is a good back but is not fast enough to be a franchise RB. He would be a good west coast offense fullback. He can catch and is a good blocker. But that is not what he wants. I doubt he will be back in Cleveland in 2013.
That is what I think. Tell us what you think.
If you want a different look at Cleveland Sports, join me on the Internet radio version of News, Notes and Rumors M-Th at 6 PM EST on mooheadradio.com/2.0/
Follow me @NNRonDSN
Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He edits fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on eBooks-Library.com/Contemporary/ and a non-fiction work at merriam-press.com