It was only a matter of time before Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown spoke on the trading of Cleveland Browns back Trent Richardson. Brown has never been the biggest supporter of Richardson so it was expected he would have plenty to say about the trading of the former first-round draft pick. Brown is praising the move by Cleveland while bashing Mike Holmgren for being against the change.
There is nothing like having an outspoken veteran voicing his opinions about his former team. In an interview with Showtime's Inside the NFL, Brown spoke about Richardson getting sent to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a first-round draft pick in 2014. While he was shocked, he loved the move.
"I was surprised," Brown said, via John Breech of CBSSports.com. "But then I thought it was a brilliant move... Because first of all, Trent [Richardson] couldn't have carried the kind of load that Cleveland needed."
The statement comes as no surprise. Brown has never been a supporter of Richardson. The former running back once referred to Richardson as an "ordinary" athlete despite being a Heisman trophy candidate in college and helping lead Alabama to a national championship. Cleveland fans were not thrilled over Brown's evaluation of Richardson, but the veteran stood by his belief. No running back could carry the load Cleveland needed. Ask Adrian Peterson how that is working out in Minnesota.
Former Browns president Holmgren had a different evaluation of Richardson. Holmgren went as far as to say he would have fired himself if he was on staff when the Colts trade happened. Holmgren was shocked that the team traded away who he deemed their best player in exchange for draft picks. Brown thought Holmgren was terrible for the team in the first place and disagrees with pretty much everything he had to say.
"[Holmgren] had all his boys that were going to come in and take advantage of the kind of money that he could pay his guys and never really be there," Brown said. "He took advantage of Randy [Lerner] and it was just a shame. Randy's a good guy. Young owner. Wanted someone to take the pressure off of him. Mike came in, saw the weakness and took advantage of it."
It is good to note that Holmgren fired Brown from his role with the Browns back in 2010, something that is still sour with the former running back. He ripped the fact that Holmgren was not from Cleveland and had no loyalty to the franchise. New owner Jimmy Haslam re-hired Brown as a special adviser as most teams do with outspoken veterans. It is clear the relationship between Brown and Holmgren has not improved.
