One of the surprise stories of 2010 in the NFL was Browns running back Peyton Hillis. Since the Broncos traded him to Cleveland for Brady Quinn last offseason, Hillis has run with a purpose. Despite carrying the ball only 17 times through the first two games of 2010, Hillis finished the year with 1177 rushing yards, nearly 500 yards receiving, and 13 total touchdowns. Why is it that Denver traded such a beast?
Back in December, rumors were swirling that Mark Schlereth told 104.3 The Fan that the Broncos unloaded the running back because he hit on Josh McDaniels’ wife, but there was soon plenty of reason to doubt those claims. Hillis gave the Dan Patrick Show a much different reason on Wednesday — discrimination.
In Denver, they just wanted me to play strictly fullback, nothing else. I wasn’t too happy about the situation, but I was trying to be a team player. I just wanted to be on the field. It ended up I didn’t play anything at all.”
“Every team did it,” Hillis said. “They’ll say, ‘You white boy, you ain’t gonna run on us today. This is ridiculous. Why are you giving offensive linemen the ball?’
It’s no secret that white running backs are rare in the NFL. There are a number of theories as to why — none of which are even worth getting into on this platform. Whatever the case, the Broncos look awfully silly for dumping Hillis and even sillier for giving up a draft pick for Laurence Maroney, a.k.a. Pippy Long Stocking.
