Bucs RB Peyton Hillis suffered a hyperextended left knee in Thursday night's preseason opener against Baltimore. The injury is not believed to be season threatening, but will hurt Hillis' roster chances in his likely one-on-one battle with Brian Leonard for a job. Before exiting, Hillis rushed four times for 13 yards (3.3 YPC) with a fumble.

The Bucs will look at Peyton Hillis as both a tailback and fullback. Hillis was a lead blocker in front of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones at Arkansas. He's played primarily tailback in the pros. Hillis will likely battle Brian Leonard for one roster spot. Doug Martin still doesn't have a clear handcuff as Hillis, Leonard, Michael Smith, and Mike James all vie for the role.

Jenna Laine of Sports Talk Florida and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport both report the Bucs are in contract negotiations with free agent Peyton Hillis. Hillis was in town, along with a host of other veteran free agents, on Tuesday to work out for the Bucs. Even if he does sign with Tampa Bay, Hillis will be far from a lock to make the 53-man roster. Hillis has battled a variety of injuries over the last two seasons, limiting him to just 246 carries. He's averaged 3.64 YPC over that span and looked genuinely washed up in K.C. last year.

Jenna Laine of Sports Talk Florida reports the Bucs will work out free agent Peyton Hillis on Tuesday. Hillis' career has gone downhill fast. Since appearing on the cover of Madden three seasons ago, Hillis has rushed for just 896 yards and four touchdowns on 246 carries. He's also missed nine games over that span. The Bucs are likely just doing their due diligence on the 27-year-old. Michael Smith, Mike James, and Brian Leonard are currently slotted in as Doug Martin's backups.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette says the report of free agent Peyton Hillis' visit with the Packers "appears to have been false." The original report came from ultra-reliable Adam Schefter, so we highly doubt it was flat-out wrong. Perhaps the Packers had a visit scheduled and then decided to delay it while they tried to work out a deal with Steven Jackson. Now that Green Bay has lost out on S-Jax, the interest in Hillis could be renewed. The only running backs on their roster right now are DuJuan Harris, Alex Green, James Starks and Brandon Saine.

The Packers are hosting Peyton Hillis for a free-agent visit. We wonder if this is a leverage play by GM Ted Thompson as he attempts to bring Steven Jackson's price tag down. Hillis would be a major downgrade from Jackson. It's also possible Thompson is seriously considering signing two backs; Hillis is strong in the passing game and can even lead block in a pinch.

The Boston Herald mentions free agents Peyton Hillis and Michael Turner as backup running back options for the Patriots. Both Hillis and Turner are not expected to garner much interest early on in free agency, but beat writer Jeff Howe thinks they could be nice goal-line backs for New England if the price is right. The Patriots have Brandon Bolden as a bigger back behind Stevan Ridley, but his production was sporadic as a rookie.

Impending free agent Peyton Hillis "didn't impress anyone in Kansas City" last season, according to Fox Sports Kansas City. When he wasn't injured, Hillis often appeared to be running in quicksand. He simply hasn't been an effective runner or receiver since the 2010 season. New coach Andy Reid prefers to use one feature back as opposed to a tandem attach, which means Hillis is a long shot to re-sign with the Chiefs.

Peyton Hillis rushed five times for four yards in Kansas City's Week 17 loss to the Broncos. A fitting end to a dismal season for the former Brown. Hillis finishes his first year in a Chiefs uniform with just 85 carries for 309 yards (3.6 yards per carry). He added only 10 catches for 62 yards in the passing game. A plodding back with no special qualities, Hillis is an impending free agent who will have a hard time earning guaranteed money on the open market this offseason.

Peyton Hillis rushed 15 times for 101 yards in Kansas City's Week 16 loss to Indianapolis. Hillis saved his best game in a Chiefs uniform for meaningless Week 16, ripping off powerful run after powerful run while playing second fiddle to a red-hot Jamaal Charles (22-226-1). Hillis, who turns 27 in January, is a free agent at season's end. He'll try to put more intriguing things on tape when Kansas City visits Denver for the season finale in Week 17.