Running back Peyton Hillis is a little less than two weeks from hitting the free-agent market.
He's bringing baggage.
The latest "news" — if you can call it that — in the seemingly never-ending drama involving Hillis and the Cleveland Browns is a report that leaked Thursday that said Hillis became so frustrated during the 2011 season that he considered retiring from football to pursue a career in the CIA.
This comes around the time the Browns have the chance to give Hillis the code name "Agent: Franchise" and keep him from hitting the open market on March 13, but all indications are the team will not use the franchise tag on Hillis.
Speaking of "agent," it was announced earlier this week that Hillis had split with agent Kennard McGuire. That means he's not only negotiating with new agents while negotiating — presumably — a contract with the Browns, but he's looking for his fourth agent since the start of 2011.
His is a case only Drew Rosenhaus could love. Stay tuned on that, by the way.
Hillis started the 2011 season looking for a new contract, understandably, looking to cash in on a 2010 season that saw him run for 1,177 yards in his first year with the Browns — not bad for a guy who came along with a late draft pick in a trade that sent Brady Quinn to Denver.
When Hillis decided to sit out the Browns' third game of last season because of flu-like symptoms, it was McGuire who attempted to calm the backlash by saying he advised Hillis not to risk playing while sick. Fans seemed sure Hillis wasn't playing because he wanted a new deal, and the Browns didn't do a whole lot to dispel that notion.
A hamstring injury lingered — and lingered, and lingered — and Hillis ended up missing five more games because of that. His 2010 season made him popular enough that the Browns' rabid fan base voted him onto the cover of the popular Madden video game. Last season, however, he became the latest player to fall victim to the Madden Curse.
Maybe it was more than that. Hillis got married during the season on an off day for the players — at a time he was injured. Fans reported seeing him run through an airport in hopes of making his connecting flight. Later came reports that a group of Browns veteran players held an intervention of sorts with Hillis, asking him to put his contract desires and whatever else aside and just focus on football.
"There's a few things that happened this year that made me believe in curses," Hillis told reporters during the final week of last season. "Ain't no doubt about it."
Former seventh-round picks who were the third-best running back on their own college team aren't generally divas, but there are exceptions to every rule. Hillis is a unique player, and, when healthy, he's a darn good one. He has had 100-yard games vs. the vaunted Ravens defense in each of the past two seasons.
Now, the Browns are preparing for free agency and the draft and need to fix an anemic offense. They shouldn't be in the business of letting good players walk, but there are clearly issues here.
Hillis needs to be of sound body and mind for the Browns to make a significant financial investment in him. Hillis needs to prove — to the Browns and/or to potential outside suitors — that he's committed to playing winning football and doesn't want to go work for the CIA or anywhere else.
Nobody does bizarre like these Browns, but this saga is the most bizarre of them all.
