Holmgren says Browns working to extend Hillis's contract

[Masters]

I am sure this should be filed under the "no shocker file"

Browns, RB Hillis working on new contract - NFL - Yahoo! Sports


Browns, RB Hillis working on new contract


BEREA, Ohio (AP)—Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren says the club is “trying like crazy” to extend running back Peyton Hillis’(notes) contract.
In an ESPN radio interview Friday, Holmgren said the club wants to wrap up Hillis “for a long time.” The 25-year-old Hillis rushed for 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, his first with Cleveland after coming over in a trade from Denver. A battering ram with the ball, Hillis has become a fan favorite in Cleveland, and last week, he said the city “represents who I am.”

Hillis is in the final year of his rookie contract, which will pay him $555,000 this season.
Hillis’ popularity soared this season, when he won a fan vote to be on the cover of Madden 12, the wildly popular video game.

[YtownBacker]

Also trying to get Rubin done.

IMO, they keep trying to do it the right way. Develop your players or trade for young veterans that are good fits and get them under long term contracts while they continue to add talent to the roster through the draft.

[Sez.EJ]

This news has been floating for a couple weeks now. Not worried about it.. they will get it done. My guess is 4.5 to 5.5. mil. per year.. Oh to be young strong and rich..

[Brown Warrior]

Word to the wise...

Chris Johnson isn’t the only struggling big money back | ProFootballTalk

I'm sending mind messages to Heckert: "Three years! Just three years!"

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by Sez.EJ

This news has been floating for a couple weeks now. Not worried about it.. they will get it done. My guess is 4.5 to 5.5. mil. per year.. Oh to be young strong and rich..

And cute with MASSIVE guns!!!

(that was just for you shep!! )

[Flugel]

The front office looks like they've gone in order of guys that have been here longer than 1 year with the recent raises. That doesn't mean they don't want to reward Hillis as much as it means they know they can take their time with the process.

This is what they put on base before they do up the cleanup contract:
1) they secured Joe Thomas who arrived in 2007, 2) they decided they liked what they've seen from Evan Moore since the end of the 2009 season and they gave him a raise to be happy with, 3) and they locked down Rubin who has been here since 2008. I'm not one that understands amounts and caponomics for alot of positions so all I care about in the end is that we have a happy motivated player that doesn't FORGET why they are getting paid and WHAT TEAM is paying them to perform. Hasn't always been the case here as we know.

The SCARY thing is I look at RBs around the league and I noticed DeAngelo Williams got a hefty contract extension in Carolina when he's rarely ever healthy. Jamaal Charles just had a season ending knee blowout. Arian Foster can't answer the bell in 2011 so far. Then there's draftees like Knowshon Moreno who has had a hamstring pull since draft day or brittle guys like Reggie Bush out there. Marion Barber is a physical RB with wear and tear sidelining him quite bit. Beanie Wells is another one that can't take a pounding. Ryan Grant had a monsterous coming out party and he's been injured on and off ever since to the tune of a 2 back system today. All we know about Hillis is the 16 or 17 starts he's had where we like how hard he runs. We've seen RBs have strong 1st years here before and extended them new contracts and they never looked as good after the new contracts like Rueben Droughns AND Jamal Lewis. Come to think of it, William Green averaged 100 yards rushing per game over the final 6-7 weeks of the rookie year he ran us into the playoffs. We never saw the same guy again with him too. Not saying the same has to happen with Hillis just saying we have a recent history of Abdul Jabbar, Errict Rhett, Lee Suggs, William Green, Rueben Droughns, and Jamal Lewis all giving us less than 2 years of delivery on those generous salaries here.

Alot of rumbling just to say I think we need to be careful but appreciative. We need to extend a reward but if Hillis' agent considers something between 5 and 6 million $ a year an insult; then they need to remember where things were heading when he wasn't getting an opportunity in Denver. I LIKE him but RBs aren't the guys making the difference in this league; AND the reality is alot of teams need 2 good ones. Didn't we need another RB to step up vrs Miami? You bet we did. Meanwhile, Adrian Peterson is still looking for his very first win while Arian Foster is looking for his first 60 minutes of football in 2011.

[Jax Dawg]

Originally Posted by Flugel

Alot of rumbling just to say I think we need to be careful but appreciative. We need to extend a reward but if Hillis' agent considers something between 5 and 6 million $ a year an insult; then they need to remember where things were heading when he wasn't getting an opportunity in Denver. I LIKE him but RBs aren't the guys making the difference in this league; AND the reality is alot of teams need 2 good ones. Didn't we need another RB to step up vrs Miami? You bet we did. Meanwhile, Adrian Peterson is still looking for his very first win while Arian Foster is looking for his first 60 minutes of football in 2011.

I agree but -

Be careful Flugs, somehow I hear "this just goes to prove this a QB league..." coming back to haunt you in 3, 2, 1...

[Enigmatic Evil]

If Hillis is going to get his head up his ass about 5-6 mill a year when he was riding the bench in Denver and nobody appreciated him I will be astonished. Tom is right, Hillis needs to remember where he came from. ONE huge season doesn't equate a huge payday. RB's have huge years and dissapear all the time, and I pray that Hillis is not one of those guys but we need him in the Brown and Orange for years to come.

[Brown Warrior]

Well put, Tom. Hillis is a special athlete and I know fans are hungry for a gritty, rust-belt identity... and he's great for that... but he's a running back. You just need to be careful.

[Riffer X]

You don't break the bank with Hillis, but you give him decent value. It is one less thing we need on our to get list, which I think is being lost in the equation. You have to have two good backs in the league now, and Hardesty and Hillis are really good receivers.

Hillis deserves fair value, he is the face of the team and loves it here----but no need to go ballistic in overpaying him.

[Crow]

Overpaying guys is how promising young teams kill themselves.

[Brown Warrior]

Holy crap. We all agree on something.