The Cleveland Browns felt they had the perfect plan for rebuilding a little over a year ago when they drafted running back Trent Richardson and quarterback Brandon Weeden in the first round, bit now that Richardson is gone in a trade and Weeden is hurt, could more players be on the trading block? Joe Thomas thinks so and he says the whole team is now on notice.
According to the NFL Network, Thomas spoke to the channel soon after the Richardson deal and he commented that the whole team is now on "the trading block" referring to himself and other players, most likely Josh Gordon and possibly even Brandon Weeden himself. The team was shocked at the trade and so was the NFL, as Richardson was a number three pick just a year ago and now the team is on notice. Thomas said that the whole team "is on the trading block" and that could spell some significant changes coming ahead for the Browns.
The front office has said that it is not tanking the season, but it's hard for fans to believe that after trading their starting running back just two weeks into the season. Richardson has rushed for just over 100 yards through two games and now he is on the Colts, giving Indy two of the top three picks from the 2012 draft. The team now has two first round picks along with two three and fourth round picks, setting them up to be big players come next April or whenever the NFL wants the draft to go down.
Many have speculated that the team will try to get someone like Johnny Manziel or Teddy Bridgewater and that would make yet another new regime change for the team after they brought in Weeden and Richardson. Weeden is out with an injury and with Brian Hoyer starting in Week 3, the team could be 0-3 if they lose to the Vikings and that could signal time to start dealing.
The fan base has endured plenty of losing over the years and now they may have to deal with some more with Richardson gone. Last season he rushed for over 900 yards with 11 TDs, but now he will take over for Vick Ballard, who was lost for the season. The man who drafted Richardson in Mike Holmgren took to the radio after the trade and said that the team made a mistake and that they shouldn't have made the trade.
Thomas is an All-Pro and while he likely won't be going anywhere, players like Weeden or Gordon could move, as the current regime did not pick them in the draft and since Gordon has had drug issues, he could be on the move. Weeden likely won't generate that much interest, but if they feel that he is not the answer for the team, he could move.
The Browns have a new head coach in Rob Chudzinski and they signed Willis McGahee to take over for Richardson and now the former number three pick is gone and the Browns will have to hope he doesn't turn into the next Adrian Peterson.
