So now word comes via Adam Schefter of ESPN that Peyton Hillis thought about retiring last season and getting a job with the CIA. Now he has changed his mind and wants to continue his career as an running back, preferably with the Browns.

If ever there was a blueprint on how not to negotiate a contract extension, this is it. Maybe Hillis got the idea watching a Mission Impossible movie while he was home recuperating from strep throat last September.

The revelation could affect Hillis' ability to negotiate a long-term contract in free agency. Once a player gets the idea of retirement in his head it often times stays there. If Hillis has another tumultuous year like he did in 2011 he could decide to chuck it all and become a spy.

The smart thing for the Browns and for Hillis would be for the two sides to work out a one-year contract to keep Hillis in Cleveland for 2012. Hillis would get the chance to prove 2010 was no fluke and the Browns would reap the benefits of a player playing hungry in his contract year.

The Browns have the money to sign Hillis if his demands are not unreasonable. Hillis was going to find out even before word broke he wanted to wear a secret decoder ring that he wasn't going to command a huge contract on the open market. Teams are wary of one-year wonders.