Today marks the one-year anniversary of what could be remembered as one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history.
On Sept. 18, 2013, Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson pulled the trigger on a deal that sent a first-round pick to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for running back Trent Richardson.
The Colts believed Richardson would step in and become their bell-cow back. In other words, the guy the Browns envisioned Richardson would be when they traded up to select the former Alabama star with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Things haven't worked out for Richardson or the Colts over the past 365 days. As colleague Henry Hodgson pointed out on Twitter, Richardson has gained 558 yards on 184 rushes with Indy, just three yards per carry on average. In that same span, Colts running backs not named Trent Richardson have rushed for 1,149 yards on 225 carries, a 5.1 average.
After a disappointing first 16 games in Indy, we were treated to the predictable optimism this offseason: Richardson had mastered the playbook, gained confidence, and dropped weight after shoulder surgery. "(We) fully expect him to have a great year," Chuck Paganosaid in July.
Richardson hasn't been great through two weeks. On Monday night, he had some success running up the middle -- including a trio of 10-yard runs -- but he fumbled twice and struggled whenever Pep Hamilton asked (and this happened too often) for Richardson to get to the edge. One Twitter follower observed that T-Rich "rolls to the outside like a deformed Slinky." Hamilton's opinion that Richardson had one of his better games as a Colt acted as quite the accidental indictment.
Ahmad Bradshaw, meanwhile, clearly looked like the superior back against the Eagles. Bradshaw moved like he did in his Giants hey-day, 400 foot surgeries and a neck injury be damned. He's clearly a better fit in this offense.
At the NFL Scouting Combine in February, our own Chris Wesseling asked Grigson if he would do the Richardson trade again if given the chance. "Yes" was the GM's one-word answer. Something tells us he might not have been being entirely truthful.
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