The Raiders have signed free agent RB Trent Richardson. #WelcomeToTheFamily pic.twitter.com/ZHmkFPVb01
— OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) March 17, 2015
On Tuesday, presumably because the team desperately needed to fulfill their quota of one running back with unfulfilled potential on the roster, the Oakland Raiders signed Trent Richardson.
Richardson, the much-heralded third overall pick in the 2012 draft from Alabama, has been a bust by just about every conceivable metric imaginable so far in his NFL career. In his three-year career, Richardson has rushed the ball 614 times for 2,032 yards (a mere 3.3 yards per carry) and he’s scored a disappointing 17 touchdowns.
After spending his first season with the Cleveland Browns, Richardson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a first round pick in 2013. By the end of his stay with the Colts, Richardson was not active for the team’s final two playoff games. He was cut during the offseason.
To give the Raiders some credit, the team does have a need at running back with the loss of Darren McFadden to the Cowboys and the retirement of Maurice Jones-Drew. At the time of the signing, Richardson was one of the bigger names left in free agency (although Richardson is more famous for being a third overall pick than for anything that he’s done on an NFL field).
He’s a long way from being the next Marshawn Lynch but getting an opportunity with any team, even the Raiders, has to be a relief for the former Alabama star.
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