Peyton Hillis hints at coming out of retirement

Peyton Hillis tweeted his desire to play for Cleveland Browns

Peyton Hillis, who last played in the NFL in 2014, tweeted that he would like to come out of retirement to play another year for the Cleveland Browns. It’s a nice thing to say to the fans, because his tenure in Cleveland did not end well.

He gained 1,177 yards in the 2010 season, most of them between the tackles and scored 11 touchdowns. Hillis was also featured on the cover of Madden, which superstitious fans figure cursed him, resulting in a falloff to 587 yards the next year.

The Browns let him go free agent without even making him an offer, due to his unrealistic contract expectations and problematic hamstring injuries. But man, the 2010 season was something else.

Cleveland fans loved his style of play. He was a throwback, really a fullback who became the primary ball carrier rather than a halfback.  Nothing fancy, right up the middle most of the time. “Here I come, can you stop me?” Most of the time, the answer was “no.”

Is it at all realistic for Hillis to come back after six years out of the league? Probably not, though on rare occasion players have come back. after a few years away from the game.

Marshawn Lynch of the Seahawks evidently heard that running backs lose their effectiveness at age 30, so he retired at age 29, and then came back at age 31 and had a good year for the Oakland Raiders. Or perhaps he was still mad at coach Pete Carroll for the crazy goal line call that ended Super Bowl XLIX. He lasted two more years with the Raiders and is not quite retired at age 34 if an NFL team is looking for a fossilized running back.

John Riggins also took a year off from Washington back in 1980 at age 31 and then came back to play five more effective seasons. When he hung up his spikes for good, he was actually two years older than Hillis is now.

Hall of Fame cornerback Neon Deion Sanders was out of the game for three seasons and came back at age 37 and played at a high level for the Baltimore Ravens in 2004-2005. Sanders was three years older than Hillis when he came back.

Jim Brown thought about coming back to football at age 47 with the Oakland Raiders, and Art Modell argued that he still owed him a year on his old contract. That was probably  a silly argument, but that was Art. Not everyone thought it was completely crazy for Brown to play football after 17 years out of the game.

The funny thing is that the Covid-19 rules allow improbable roster projects to exist this season. If Hillis gets a tryout and impresses, he could be assigned to the practice squad, which does not have much roster impact. This wouldn’t have been possible in previous seasons, but this season veterans are permitted to be carried on the practice squad.

It’s also possible for a player to be promoted to the active roster for a two-game period without cutting anyone. So if someone were banged up and there was a need for a short yardage back it is not quite impossible for a recycled 34-year-old to make it back.

After all, you know what they say. The NFL is the league where anything can happen and usually does.  But the chances of Hillis actually making it back as a second string fullback are probably less than one in a thousand, if not quite zero.

"So you’re telling me there’s a chance! — Jim Carrey, Dumb and Dumber"

Realistically, what Peyton’s tweet really means is that he appreciates his time in Cleveland and misses the team. Probably everyone wishes it could have ended better.

It would be great to see the old fullback at a Browns Backers gig in the future.  Miss you, man.