Browns work out RB Kylin Hill

The Cleveland Browns hosted running back Kylin Hill for a workout on Wednesday as the club prepares for its final game of the preseason on Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Originally a seventh-round selection by the Green Bay Packers in the 2021 NFL Draft, Hill only appeared in 10 games with the Packers before being released in November of last season.

His rookie season, which saw him have 10 carries for 24 yards, ended after just eight games due to a torn ACL. Hill returned to the Packers in November of last season as the team’s third running back but saw action in just two games, and had just one carry on offense before he was released.

Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur alluded to some off-the-field concerns about Hill, who may not have been happy with such a small role in the offense, when asked about the move, as Matt Schneidman reported in The Athletic:

“Being a member of the Green Bay Packers, it’s a privilege, and there’s standards and expectations that are placed on every member of this team that we expect guys to live up to. I appreciate what Kylin’s been through and I know it hasn’t been easy coming back from that knee injury that he suffered a year ago that was a pretty devastating hit, and he’s a guy that we had some high expectations for and I realize he is in a loaded room.

“But regardless of your role, no matter how big or how small, we expect guys to come to work and just be supportive and own that role to the best of their ability. When you don’t do that, this is what happens.”

The Browns remain a bit limited at running back behind starter Nick Chubb as second-year back Jerome Ford, the presumed backup to Chubb heading into training camp, has been out for three weeks with a hamstring injury, and Hassan Hall, John Kelly Jr., Jordan Wilkins and Demetric Felton Jr. have not exactly seized the moment in Ford’s absence.

Given his lack of production in Green Bay and the way his tenure ended with the Packers, it is hard to see where Hill would fit in with the Browns. Perhaps the tryout is nothing more than general manager Andrew Berry keeping tabs on available players in case an injury strikes this weekend against the Chiefs or Ford’s hamstring continues to bother him when the season starts on September 10.