Where's Trent Richardson?
The official company line was that the running back missed some practice time due to illness, though the reality might be a little blurry.
"We're going to evaluate the situation as we go through the week and we'll know more as we go through the week," coach Chuck Pagano said, via ESPN.com
That blurriness manifested itself in Richardson participating in punt coverage Thursday afternoon, a designation typically reserved for bottom-rung members of the roster.
General manager Ryan Grigson, speaking on WFNI-AM earlier this week, still wouldn't pan the trade as a bad move. Though he watched Zurlon Tipton get more carries than a player for whom he dealt a first-round pick, he's sticking by his gut instinct at the time.
"When we made that trade it was a great shot in the arm," Grigson said. "We lost our starter. I felt like it was the right football move at that time. I'll never back off that thought. I thought it was a no-brainer."
Imagine what the Colts would be like this year if they had an Eddie Lacy-type presence in their backfield. That seemed to be the idea going in, but for some reason, Richardson's powerful game never translated properly to the NFL.
Piling on at this point seems meaningless; Richardson might just end up as a classic case of a player drafted too high. But it's alarming to think how good the Colts might be with a capable every down back behind Andrew Luck in January.
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