In Trent Richardson's second game as a pro, playing against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns running back put on a show. He rushed for 107 yards and score, and also caught four passes for 36 yards and a touchdown. It was the start of what most assumed would be a long, fruitful career for the former Alabama star. We were all very, very wrong.
After showing up on the injury report as a "healthy scratch" last week for the Indianapolis Colts playoff win against the Denver Broncos, Richardson, who was traded to Indy from the Browns in 2013, vowed he would never be benched again.
"That situation will never happen to me again," Richardson told the Indianapolis Star. "Anybody can quote me, today, because it's never going to happen again."
Well, Trent, it's happened again. Colts.com writer Kevin Bowen tweeted out that Richardson didn't even make the trip to New England for the Colts AFC Championship matchup against the Patriots. The team cited "personal reasons," as the catalyst behind leaving Richardson in Indiana, which makes some sense. Being unable to accelerate on the football field does sound like a personal problem.
If this isn't rock bottom for Richardson, it can't be much further down.
UPDATE: Richardson gave comments this morning explaining why he didn't travel to New England with the team, which was reportedly because he missed a team walkthrough yesterday without explanation or even notifying the organization. Speaking with Mike Wells of ESPN, Richardson said that "I had to miss walk-through. I'm dealing with a very serious family emergency. I'm still at the hospital. I wouldn't purposely just miss walk-through."
"I wouldn't just purposely turn my back on the team," he continued. "I would have been there if I wasn't dealing with this issue."
Indianapolis-based WTHR reporter Bob Kravitz followed up this report with a series of tweets trying to sort through what exactly happened (or didn't) between Richardson and the Colts yesterday:
It's certainly possible Trent Richardson had a family issue, as per @HolderStephen but my source said he missed walkthrough and didn't call.
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) January 18, 2015
It's entirely possible both things are true, that it's a medical issue and he didn't notify team. Two things are not mutually exclusive
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) January 18, 2015
Regardless of where the truth lies, the end result is the same: Richardson won't be on the field when the Patriots and Colts play tonight for the right to go to the Super Bowl.
[Via @KBowenColts]
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