On Thursday, the Indianapolis Colts predictably and understandably cut ties with Trent Richardson.
In his nearly two full years with the Colts, Richardson played in 29 games during which he rushed for 977 yards on 316 carries (for a meager 3.1 yards per attempt) and six rushing touchdowns (to five fumbles). That “production” came at the cost of a first-round pick that the Colts traded to the Cleveland Browns for Richardson back in 2013.
Even Trent wasn’t surprised that he was cut:
“I was expecting this,” Richardson told ESPN.com. “It just didn’t work out. I’m not saying anything bad about the program, but that program just didn’t fit me at all. Me and the GM didn’t see eye to eye. It was a bad marriage for us.”
Still, Richardson vows that he’ll bounce back from this and take the league by storm. He even (seriously) compared his career trajectory to that of Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch.
“I’ll be one of the top running backs from here on out,” Richardson said. “They ruled Marshawn Lynch off in his third year. Look at what he’s doing now. My next stop, I’ll be the starter. I still have my pride, and I know who I am.”
Time will tell if Trent Richardson does have a career resurgence in the same vein as Marshawn Lynch. For now, he’s filing a grievance against the Colts over $3.184 million in salary that the Colts aren’t paying due to a two-game suspension that the team handed him in January.
The team holds the position that the two-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team levied against Richardson in January voided the guaranteed portion of his contract, as spelled out in the forfeiture language included in his deal.
But Richardson is challenging the decision, perhaps based on the notion that his actions did not rise to the level of conduct detrimental. Richardson missed a team practice and flight to New England the day prior to January’s AFC Championship Game, he says, because he rushed his girlfriend to the hospital with pregnancy complications.
So ends Trent Richardson’s illustrious career in Indianapolis, not with a bang so much as a drawn-out grievance process.
