The Cleveland Browns pulled off a stunning trade on Wednesday, sending running back Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts for a first round pick in 2013, meaning that two of the top three picks from the 2012 draft are now on the same team in Andrew Luck and T Rich.
According to ESPN.com, Adam Schefter reported the stunning story and it likely means that the Browns regime is trying to move on from the previous front office after they picked Richardson and Weeden together in the first round and then started them the next season. The team gave up on Richardson after he set a record with 11 touchdowns last season and he also had over 900 rushing yards as a rookie and he was the player taken after Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin.
Now Luck and Richardson are on the same team and the fantasy value of Richardson goes up, as he is on a better team with a better offense and a better quarterback. This season he has been off to a slow start with just over 100 yards and he was limited in the first game after taking just 13 carries and he was not given any chances in the fourth quarter. Some fantasy owners were frustrated at his playing time and now he could put up some big numbers and while this hurts Ahmad Bradshaw's fantasy value a bit, he still could get out in some spots and put up good numbers in deeper leagues.
This kills the Browns offense and basically anyone not named Josh Gordon should be avoid at all costs. The Colts offense could start moving more and now Richardson could end up as a top five back this season. Trades this big usually don't happen and really not this early in the season, but the Colts felt that this was the best way to improve their running back position after losing Vick Ballard for the season, as they felt players like Michael Turner and others were not worth it. Richardson was the third pick in the draft out of Alabama before last season and came after Griffin in the order.
The Browns had previously hoped to get Robert Griffin in that draft and they took Richardson after missing out and they felt comfortable sending him in a deal after looking at his injury history and feeling that building for the future is a better option. The team tried to send a package to the Rams like the Redskins did to get Griffin, but it wasn't good enough and now they likely will have to try for Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater.
The team liked Richardson, but they felt it was best to start building for the future and clearly they see Richardson and Brandon Weeden as not the players to build around, as trading Richardson also likely means that Weeden is done as a long term starter there. The Browns are preparing themselves to be players in the draft next season and they could even end up having the first round pick, meaning they wouldn't even need to make a huge deal to get a player like Johnny Manziel or Teddy Bridgewater.
The Colts and Browns are in different positions obviously and Richardson gives them a much more potent running game and while Cleveland will hurt from this, in the long run it may end up better. The Colts have not had a talented running back like Richardson in quite some time and it is impressive of Jim Irsay and Ryan Grigson that they can say yes, we have two of the top three picks from what will likely be known as one of the best drafts of all time, as Griffin, Luck and Russell Wilson came out in that draft.
Fantasy owners, buy big on Richardson.