NFL Trade Rumors: Trading Peyton Hillis Would Mean Browns Are Giving Up

With the huge trade news that came out today that former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer was traded to the Oakland Raiders, it launches one more shot into the NFL trade deadline.  

Who else will be traded before the 4:00 P.M. trade deadline?  

Is Peyton Hillis the next person that will have to change his license plate from Ohio to a state like New York or California?  

With news coming out from both sides of this trade rumor, if (and this is a big IF) Cleveland makes this move, it means that they are giving up on trying to resign Hillis as talks have not progressed, and will be a sign that Cleveland is once again giving up on another season while preparing for the next year.  

From one side, you have Hillis’s agent, Kennard McGuire (who is Peyton’s third agent in the last four months), who apparently advised Hillis to sit out in Week 3 when the player had strep-throat.

When asked if Peyton was frustrated about his involvement in the offense and sitting out in Week 3’s game, Gregg Rosenthal of NBC Sports quoted The Cleveland Plain-Dealer's Tony Grossi, saying, “[Grossi] thinks Hillis will request a trade as the 'next step' in the process.  The contract talk is 'not going well' according to Grossi, who says the Browns see Montario Hardesty as a runner with a higher ceiling.” 

However, on the other side of this trade rumor, there is Cleveland Browns head coach Pat Shurmur, who is firmly denied it, saying, “I don't want to talk about trades, but no, he's not on the trading block."

The trade rumors continue today, as ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said on air today, “There’s a sense they could be persuaded. We’ll see.” 

That makes it two sides to one who say that Peyton is going to get moved today.  

Once again, these are all rumors and speculations, so there’s a great chance that it does not happen.  

During their game last week against the Oakland Raiders, Peyton came out of the game with an apparent hamstring pull. However, the cameras caught a healthy looking Hillis on the sidelines from the second quarter until the early stages of the fourth quarter, when Hillis made his return to the game. 

Shurmur said that it was a “miscommunication” as to why the sideline reports said that Hillis was healthy, when he was only to be used in emergency situations, like late in the fourth quarter when he came in to help out in pass protection.  

This Hillis situation is like two sides of a very confused coin. One side (the media) says that he’s going to be dealt today. The other side (the Browns' front office) says that he’s going to stay in Cleveland.  

If the media is correct and Hillis is traded today, it will be a shame for Browns fans, as they will be losing one of the best players on their team.

Twitter: @tjmcaloon