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The Kansas City Chiefs picked up an interesting piece when the team signed Peyton Hillis on March 14, 2012 this NFL offseason. Right now twitter is abuzz with comments about Peyton Hillis who appears to be turning some heads at the Chiefs camp, as the team conducts a pratice against the Arizona Cardinals today.
Despite the good cheer, a story in the Tribune Chronicle by Mike Mclain yesterday gave us a reminder of why Peyton Hillis was able to sign with Kansas City in the first place:
In 2011 ex-Browns running back Peyton Hillis went from being the cover boy of the Madden NFL 12 video game to the bad boy in the Browns' locker room.
Along the way Hillis, now a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, tugged at and pulled down the team. From not playing in a week three game against the Miami Dolphins because of strep throat, to difficult contract negotiations, to a lingering hamstring injury, Hillis was a divisive force behind the scenes.
Well that has definitely be the stigma that Peyton Hillis carried over from Cleveland and why some of Kansas City's fans have been hesitant to jump on the "Juggernaut's" bandwagon. However, how does a former respected teammate of Peyton Hillis, like All-Pro LT for the Cleveland Browns, Joe Thomas feel about it?
"I don't know if anybody picked sides because I don't know if anybody would have been on Peyton's side," five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas said. "The way he handled it wasn't the best. I think he knows it now. It affected everyone.
"It's really nice that it's behind us and we're moving forward here because I think the guys we have right now are going to be stellar."
So far in Kansas City, Peyton Hillis has has not been that distraction the article claims was one of the reasons that topped the list for the Cleveland Browns 4-12 season in 2011.
In fact, starting with former Chief, Kendall Gammon. The Twitter news on Peyton Hillis today has been positive and really get's readers excited for the potential of the Kansas City Chiefs running game.
Chiefs getting some quality reps vs Ariz. Hillis is the real deal.
— Kendall Gammon (@KendallGammon) August 7, 2012
Chiefs RB Peyton Hillis just ran somebody over. Knocked him right on his butt
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 7, 2012
Looked over to offense for one snap and Peyton Hillis trucked O'Brien Schofield in inside run
— Josh Looney (@JoshLooney) August 7, 2012#ChiefsCamp
Peyton Hillis just ran some lb over in the first play of running drills. Knocked him right on his back.
— Nate Bukaty (@nate_bukaty) August 7, 2012
Everyone will have a chance to watch Peyton Hillis suit up for the Kansas City Chiefs this Friday night and make their own decisions about the former Madden cover star.