Trent Richardson Inks Deal With Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders have signed ex-Colts running-back Trent Richardson, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
It appears Trent Richardson has found a new home. Richardson, the No. 3 overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft, signed a contract with the Oakland Raiders Tuesday morning for a reported $3.9 million over two years.
Considered by many to be one of the biggest draft busts of recent memory, Richardson never really seemed to make the big impact that was hoped of him when he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns three years ago.
He only played one year in Cleveland, tallying 950 yards with 11 touchdowns on 267 carries before being traded to Indianapolis in September 2013 and eventually falling off the map.
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Fans in Indianapolis had high hopes and expectations for Richardson upon his arrival but he never really lived up to any of it. In his 29 games played with the Colts Richardson failed to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing and averaged an abysmal 3.1 yards per-carry.
His lack of production would eventually lead to his release from the Colts on March 12th, thus ending the forgettable Trent Richardson era in Indy.
There is a lot of telling that Richardson has caused a lot of doubt in fans’ minds about his ability to play at the NFL level over the course of his career. But can he turn it around and be the explosive back (who finished 3rd in Heisman voting in 2011) that he was at Alabama? Only time will tell.
Pro Football Focus has the Oakland Raider’s offensive-line ranking as the 16th-best line in the league with a run-blocking ranking of 24th. Indianapolis comes in as the 17th-best with the 13th-best run-blocking line in the NFL. If those numbers hold to be true throughout the course of next season, we could very well see the Trent Richardson that we have been accustomed to seeing over the years.
We fans have heard excuse after excuse from Trent in terms of his lack of production on the field. Now that he has found a new home in Oakland he can expect the patience of fans and staff to be extremely thin if he fails to produce.
Time will only tell if Richardson can be the impact player that he vows to be, or if he’ll just wind up as another has-been in the league.
The clock is ticking, Trent.