The Trent Richardson era is over in Indianapolis & starting in Oakland

[Bamabww]

INDIANAPOLIS –

On Thursday afternoon, the Colts waived Richardson.

Since being traded to the Colts in Week Three of the 2013 season, Richardson struggled to find any consistency in the run game.

He started 20-of-29 games with the Colts and rushed for 977 yards on 316 carries.

It looked as if Richardson was settling into a combo role with Ahmad Bradshaw earlier this season.

Richardson had a season-high 77 rushing yards on 14 carries in a Week Seven matchup against the Bengals.

However, a fourth-quarter hamstring injury ended Richardson’s day early and he could not get back on track the rest of the season.

He did not record a carry in the Colts Wild Card win over the Bengals and was then inactive the next week in Denver.

Richardson did not travel to the team’s AFC Championship game against New England and it was later announced that he was suspended for two games (the second of which would have come in the 2015 season opener for the Colts).

The Colts running back position, sans Richardson, was bolstered earlier this week with the addition of Frank Gore.

Currently on the roster, the Colts have Gore, Boom Herron, Vick Ballard, Zurlon Tipton and Jeff Demps as their running backs.

With an exceptionally deep running back draft class in 2015, a young back could complement the names above.

http://www.colts.com/news/article-1...chardson/a394a366-cc6f-46de-b0d4-ce025d234a55

 

[Bamabww]

Colts waived RB Trent Richardson.
The move closes the book on the worst trade in recent memory. Acquired for a first-round pick in September 2013, T-Rich ended up averaging a pathetic 3.09 yards per carry on his 316 Colts totes. In between were weight and attitude problems. Whomever split the backfield with Richardson inevitably ran circles around him. T-Rich is still only 25 (in July), but due $3.184 million, he'll safely clear waivers. He'll have to be open to minimum contracts, and won't be assured of a 53-man roster spot wherever he ends up. Mar 12 - 5:10 PM

http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/7462/trent-richardson

 

[alabama mike]

Can't say that I am surprised at all by this. TR has been a major disappointment as a pro as far as performance on the field.

 

[psychojoe]

I don't know what has gone on with him in the NFL. The work and attitude that he showed as a college player made me think he would be a very successful pro.

 

[planomateo]

Didn't Cleveland use the 1st round pick they got for Trent to pick up Johnny Manziel?

Kinda odd that Trent is comparing his first few years to Marshawn Lynch, statistically speaking he needs to not compare himself to Lynch in Buffalo. Lynch had ~2600 yds in Buffalo his first three years.

Not going to surprise me if the Cowboys make a run at Trent, just to kick the tires.

 

[planomateo]

Didn't Cleveland use the 1st round pick they got for Trent to pick up Johnny Manziel?

Via Peter King's MMQB today. This certainly makes the trade sound far worse.

15. Now that Trent Richardson has been cut loose by Indianapolis, let’s assess one of the worst draft picks in modern NFL history. Not just because Richardson has been terrible in the NFL, but think of this: Cleveland had the fourth pick in the 2012 draft. Minnesota had the third pick. To ensure that they’d get Richardson, the player they were desperate to have, the Browns moved from four to three in round one, giving Minnesota fourth, fifth and seventh-round picks to move one slot. This is always a dangerous game to play, but the Browns, had they bypassed Richardson and kept the fourth pick and the picks in rounds four, five and seven, could have had linebacker Luke Kuechly, wide receiver Jairus Wright, running back Alfred Morris and either kicker Justin Tucker or linebacker Vontaze Burfict. Now, the trade of Richardson for Indy’s first-round pick in 2014 did salvage some shred of value for Richardson. Then the Browns used that pick to trade up four slots to pick Johnny Manziel. Had they bypassed Manziel, Cleveland could have had a Joe Haden corner partner, Bradley Roby, in the first round, and with that pick in the third round, wideout depth in Donte Moncrief. I repeat: This is a dangerous game to play, because I don’t know who the Browns had on the draft board near those slots. But if Manziel flunks out as a Brown, the amazing thing will be that they had two chances to get the high 2012 pick right and failed at each.

 

[planomateo]

 

[planomateo]

 

[jlabit]

Didn't see this posted earlier on this forum . I sure hope Trent can make it happen with the Raiders. I would have liked to see him picked up to run behind that big Dallas Cowboy's offensive line. I hope he puts some effort in proving his detractors wrong.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...er&utm_campaign=alabama-crimson-tide-football

 

[BamaFan334]

Better get on his horse and produce. Still one of my favorite Alabama players though.

 

[alabama mike]

Hopefully, things will work out well for him as a Radier. I wish him the best.

 

[UAgrad93]

This could be it for Trent. He had better right the ship now or become one of the NFL's all-time busts!

 

[Bamabww]

Interview with Trent copied from Tidesports.com, no link provided.

Interview:

"Q: When you got cut from the Colts, you had some quotes saying that you expect to be the starter elsewhere. Is that the mindset coming into Oakland?

Richardson: "Most definitely. If a guy is coming in and doesn't expect to be a starter, why is that guy here? For me, I expect to be a starter wherever I'm at. I just can't wait for the opportunity."

Q: Why didn't it work out in Indianapolis?

Richardson: "From the beginning, trying to fit into their program, it was different for me. For me, it was more of me being an all-time blocker. There's nothing wrong with blocking, but I still want to be able to help the team in different types of ways. I don't look at it as a bad thing. I just think it was a bad marriage. With that, I don't blame the O-line or anybody else. At the end of the day, I can still get better and I'm going to be working my tail off and trying to be the best running back now."

Q: When did all of this start to happen with the Raiders?

Richardson: "Really, I got up here last night, yesterday. I had a real good chat with them. We went over the offense and saw a lot of stuff that I saw in college. I know this playbook already, especially when it comes to the run. I know what they expect and how they're going to spread the field, putting me in a position to be successful. With that, in talking to [Head] Coach [Jack Del Rio], he just said there is just a lot of opportunity out here. He said he isn't going to promise me anything, but if I come in and work, I can be that bell cow."

Q: After not averaging four yards a carry over your NFL career, do you think that this is a system that can change that?

Richardson: "Most definitely. In my first season, I think it was something close to it, but it is what it is. I played the whole season with broken ribs, and I rushed for like 950 and I played 14 games. Last year, just in Indy, that system just didn't fit me. When I got there, started off kind of early this year, it was going good and then I ended up getting hurt and then stuff just kind of bagged off. Just looking back on it, that's a taste that you never want to get in your mouth again. Hopefully this is my last stop, and I'm going to do whatever I can to make this my last stop. Until I'm ready to walk away from the game, I don't want to leave here."

Q: After having so much success in college, have the last few seasons been humbling for you?

Richardson: "Most definitely. The very first humbling experience I had was getting traded. I spent the whole year, just wondering, why in the world and how in the world did I get traded. Looking back at it, even if they said it was a business move, in my head, it's still some type of, 'OK, you still got traded.' With that, these last few years, it's been very humbling, being able to play with Ahmad Bradshaw and be able to play with guys like Reggie Wayne and Robert Mathis and Andrew [Luck]. It just takes you back to the basics, you've just got to be able to just perform, no matter what. With that, I just go back to my old pedigree. I had the Julio [Jones], the Mark Ingram, the AJ McCarron and the Eddie Lacy all on one team. It's just big for me to get back to the basics."

Q: Are you aware of the Raiders reputation of being a place where guys come to jump start their careers and is that appealing at all?

Richardson: "Yeah, I didn't really look at it like that though. I'm just coming in and looking for this opportunity. Not saying that I've got to start over, but right now, it's just a fresh start for me. It's something that I can build off of and know that I can lose. With my mindset and the chip that's on my shoulder, it's no looking back."

Q: Does it blow you away that a guy, Chris Borland, your age would retire?

Richardson: "Yeah, it does, but in some ways, it doesn't. Mental-wise, that's all this game is. Physically, I think that when you get to this level you can play it, but mentally, when you sit and think about stuff or your mind is not into it, that can tear you down as a man. A lot of football players don't realize stuff until it's gone. Once you realize that - I've been playing football my whole life. I've been playing football since I was six years old. Coach asked me this yesterday, he said, 'Trent, how long have you been playing football?' I said, 'Coach, I've been playing since six years old.' He said, 'So, what would you do without football? At your age, what would you do without football?' It kind of hit me to where, 'Yeah, you're right, coach.' That's something that you don't expect, that you don't hear from everybody."

 

[psychojoe]

At a similar point in his career, another Trent, Dilfer by name, was regarded as among the worst 1st round picks ever. I hope our Trent puts it back together as well as his namesake.