As of now, most people will some up the Indianapolis Colts' trade for Trent Richardson as a fail. When the move was first made, it looked brilliant. The Colts were down running backs and Richardson was a first-rounder that looked full of potential if placed with the right thing. However, so far Richardson has been outperformed by everyone. Despite the low numbers, the Colts are not regretting the trade and remain confident in the running back.
In seven games with the Colts, Richardson has just 250 yards, averaging 2.8 yards per carry. Those numbers rank him in the bottom half of the running backs in the league. To make things worse, he is coming off a game where backup Donald Brown put up two scores off 80 yards rushing while also putting up 14 yards receiving. Richardson had just 22 yards on eight carries. Despite all of that, the Colts remain confident.
NFL Insider Ian Rapoport is reporting that if Indianapolis could do things over again, they would still make the same trade with the Browns.
"He's young. They love the violent way that he runs. Plus, he's cheap. The Browns are picking up a ton of his tab. ... He's had several head coaches, he's had several offensive coordinators. The Colts really think that once he immerses himself in their offense, he's going to go off," Rapoport said.
Former running back LaDainian Tomlinson is chalking up Richardson's season to trust. The NFL analyst notes that Richardson appears to lack confidence in the offensive line and does not appear to have a full grasp of the offense run in Indianapolis.
At this point, everyone is making up excuses on Richardson's behalf, tying to grasp how a player has fallen so far from where they were in college. Do not forget, Richardson was a Heisman trophy finalist. Former Colts' running back Edgerrin James told NFL Media's Michael Silver that he believes that once Richardson has some time with the Colts under his belt, he will have a return-to-form season in 2014.
"Listen, this kid's going through a lot," James said, via NFL.com. "His family is coming to town, he's adjusting to a new city and it's a new offense. Give him an offseason, you'll see him roll, you'll see the guy that everyone fell in love with out of Alabama."
At 7-3, the Colts looked poised to make the playoffs and they need a consistent run game to do so. The game plan could easily become that Brown becomes the featured back while Richardson becomes a role player while he adjusts to the new team.
