Former NFL running back off ventilator after saving kids from drowning

(KCTV/WOIO/Gray News) – Former NFL running back Peyton Hillis was hospitalized last week after saving his kids from drowning, according to prior reports.

Hillis, 36, was hospitalized in critical condition after the swimming incident in Pensacola, Florida on Jan. 5.

Family members announced on Facebook Thursday that Hillis was improving and had been taken off a ventilator, KCTV reported.

“Peyton is off the ventilator and is doing great!!” his sister Hayley Davis wrote in the post.

Hillis grew up in Conway, Arkansas. He played for the Arkansas Razorbacks from 2004 to 2007.

The Denver Broncos drafted him in the seventh Round of the 2008 NFL Draft.

He played eight seasons in the NFL with several teams, including the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants.

Most notably, Hillis rushed for nearly 1,200 yards with the Cleveland Browns in 2010 and was the cover athlete for the Madden NFL video game series “Madden NFL 12.”