Trent Richardson To Be Colts’ Every Down Back

The Indianapolis Colts will turn to Trent Richardson as an every down back following Ahmad Bradshaw’s injury.

Now that the Indianapolis Colts will be without running back Ahmad Bradshaw for the remainder of the season, they are going to need Trent Richardson to step up in a big way. It appears that he will be getting a lot more usage, and the Colts view him as their every down back heading into this weeks game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Richardson isn’t thought of as a great third-down type of back, but he has shown the ability to make plays out of the backfield as a receiver as well. He hasn’t been nearly the player that the Colts thought they would be getting with the trade last year, but he has shown flashes this year. This is the chance that he has been looking for to prove who he really is as a player.

Through his first nine games this season, Richardson has carried the football 114 times for 391 yards and two touchdowns. He has also caught 22 passes for 203 yards on the season. Those numbers aren’t all that impressive, but he has been splitting time and actually seeing less time throughout the entire season.

Offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton has been putting the football in the air a lot this season, and that will likely increase even more moving forward. Andrew Luck will have to put the team even more on his shoulders than he has already this year. Richardson will get 15-20 carries per game, but he simply hasn’t shown the ability to help shoulder anything consistently.

Indianapolis needs him to figure out his full potential and play to it down the stretch of the season. Dan “Boom” Herron isn’t a bad backup running back, but he isn’t the type of game-changer that Bradshaw was. Neither running back will be able to step in and fill the void that Bradshaw leaves, but Richardson has the best chance to come through with big performances.

Needless to say, this is going to be a tough injury for the Colts to be able to bounce back from and stay as effective offensively. He was a very consistent players when rushing the football, and he was also one of the Colts’ leading touchdown receivers. His production will be missed, and the Colts are turning to Richardson with desperate hope that he can figure out how to step up for them.