Troy Hill left the Los Angeles Rams and signed a two-year deal with the Cleveland Browns in the 2021 offseason.
Now, just one year later, he’s back with his old NFC team.
We have traded CB Troy Hill to the Rams for a 2023 fifth round pick pic.twitter.com/9hnclDARmZ
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) April 30, 2022
The Troy Hill experiment simply didn’t work out in Cleveland.
It left many fans wondering what exactly went wrong with Hill and the Browns.
Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus believes he may have some answers to that.
He recently published an article ranking the top slot corners in the NFL.
Hill appears sixth on the list but with plenty of criticisms.
A Huge Regression
Per PFF’s numbers, Hill saw a massive regression in his coverage snaps and grades in 2021 compared to one year prior.
In 2020 with the Rams, Hill posted a coverage grade of 89.2 with 379 snaps.
That ranked first among slot corners in the league that season with guys over 150 snaps.
Last season in Cleveland, that coverage grade plummeted to 50.2.
Troy’s snaps were also slashed to 323.
Troy Hill had a grim 2021 season 😬 https://t.co/EcxU8y76gM pic.twitter.com/1FNDqASbIY
— Jack Duffin (@JackDuffin) June 4, 2022
For a veteran guy emerging as a top player at his position, that kind of down year hurts.
However, a desire to return to the west coast had an impact on Hill.
Halfway Out the Door
Hill isn’t the only person from northeast Ohio to want to stay in California.
Back in May, per Nick Shook of NFL.com, Hill admitted to comparing Cleveland’s franchise to Los Angeles.
“When I was in Cleveland, I always found myself trying to compare things to how it was done over here in L.A. I don’t know if it was me just trying to compare as far as this is what a winning program does, or if it was just missing everything that was happening over here… I was excited about being able to come back out here and get some of this sunshine, things like that.”
Hill has his wish now back in Los Angeles with the Rams.
In that same interview, Hill also discussed the “should’ve, could’ve, would’ve” mindset he had while watching Los Angeles win a Super Bowl.
He won’t have to play that mental game anymore though as he’s back in blue and gold.
The slot corner even took a bit of a jab at the Browns on his way out the door earlier last month as seen on this Tweet from Brad Stainbrook.
"I feel disrespected. Definitely motivated to come out and show what I can do. … Definitely plan to come out and play with a chip on my shoulder, for sure."
– Former #Browns CB Troy Hill after being traded back to the Rams.
— Brad Stainbrook (@StainbrookNFL) May 3, 2022
Grass Isn’t Greener
The debate over money and team-fit is one that may go on until the end of time.
Some guys prefer the cash, others hold other things above that.
Absolutely nothing is wrong with either.
In Hill’s case, he may have found that more money doesn’t automatically bring success.
He did not fit with the Browns, to no fault of himself or Cleveland.
It seems like he just missed the Los Angeles environment and the way things were run with the Rams.
Unfortunately for both himself and the Browns, that came with a dip in on-field production.
Hill returning to Los Angeles will be a beneficial move for both sides.
NEXT: Browns Nation News And Notes (6/7/22)
Hill was terrible as slot CB got burned and was late helping on plays good riddance he wanted to go sit in the California Sun have at it!