Troy Hill is going back to the team he knows best.
The Cleveland Browns have traded the cornerback to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a 2023 fifth-round pick, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Saturday.
Hill left the Rams in 2021 to sign a two-year deal with the Browns, returning to his native Ohio after spending most of his childhood in Southern California. The Oregon product played in 12 games (four starts) for the Browns, recording 49 tackles, two sacks, and one pass defensed. 2021 was Hill’s first season without an interception or more than one pass defensed since 2017.
Hill didn’t quite produce as expected when Cleveland signed him, and at 30 years old, Hill was deemed expendable by Browns general manager Andrew Berry, who spent a third-round selection on Mississippi State corner Martin Emerson. Hill returns to the Rams, where he flourished in recent seasons, recording a career-high three interceptions and returning two of them for touchdowns in 2020.
Hill missed out on a ring in 2021, instead spending the season with the disappointing Browns, who finished 8-9 overall, while his former team, the Rams, won Super Bowl LVI. He’ll get a chance to run it back with his old team in 2022, while the Browns turn the page toward a younger defensive backfield.