If youre Browns president Joe Banner and GM Mike Lombardi, you werent around when the team drafted a running back with the third overall selection a year ago, but you were willing to give the kid a chance. You found out quickly that this was not the kind of running back who creates extra yards when there are none to be had. You had a solid, somewhat dependable running backa guy with a history of ankle injuries and a knee that needed to be scoped the summer he was signeda guy who told me three weeks ago that he sometimes thinks about making the safe play and preserving his health and longevity by going down or scooting out of bounds, but then he wants that one extra inch.
Andre Johnson was a No. 3 pick. So were Larry Fitzgerald and Matt Ryan. You were hoping hed show the potential to be as good as them, or maybe a transcendent talent, an Adrian Peterson. The kind of player who makes it justifiable to draft a running back in the top 10 in a league ever-trending toward the passing game.
But Richardson wasnt that. He gained 950 yards on a measly 3.6 yards per attempt as a rookie. He could catch, sure, but he struggled in pass protection, and his work ethic, well, it wasnt Petersonesque. So you were willing to trade him; to cut your losses and move on. And then somebody (the Colts) offered a first-round pick for him. Its not throwing in the towel on the season to take the deal. Its an affirmation of what we already know: Quarterback play and defense win games in the NFL, not running backs who miss cutback lanes and do just enough to chalk up 60 yards on Sunday.
