Baltimore Ravens: Another Chance for Trent Richardson
The Baltimore Ravens are on the comeback trail after a disappointing year. They’ve added a running back looking for a little redemption as well.
If you don’t succeed…
Four years ago, the Cleveland Browns moved up one spot in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft to secure the services of University of Alabama running back Trent Richardson.
By the end of his rookie campaign, it proved to be a wise choice.
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In 15 games (all starts), the talented running back amassed 1,317 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns. Richardson ran for 950 yards and 11 scores on 267 carries. He finished second on the club with 51 receptions, good for 367 yards and one more score.
The future looked bright for a franchise starving for star power.
And then suddenly, someone lost their appetite. After two games in 2013, Richardson was suddenly and shockingly dealt to the Indianapolis Colts for a first-round selection in ’14. Apparently it was too good of a deal for the Browns to pass up.
Meanwhile, Chuck Pagano’s club was suddenly in possession of two players who were the first (quarterback Andrew Luck) and third (Richardson) overall picks in the draft from the previous year.
Talk about buyer’s remorse? In 29 contests with the Colts, Richardson racked up a mere 1,471 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns.
Safe to say the young running back’s days were numbered with Indianapolis and sure enough, the former Alabama Crimson Tide star rolled out of town. Last offseason, he attempted a comeback with the Oakland Raiders. But he never took the field for the Silver and Black and was out of the league this past season.
Now Richardson will once again attempt to revitalize his career. He has now officially inked a deal with the Baltimore Ravens, news that has been rumored for quite some time.
John Harbaugh’s backfield could use some help. The Ravens finished 26th in the NFL in rushing this past season, totaling a mere 92.4 yards per game. He joins a backfield led by former Pro Bowler Justin Forsett (who saw his 2015 season but by injury), Lorenzo Taliaferro, Javorius Allen and Terrance West.
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Mostly, Richardson is looking his career back on track and he knows the only way to do it is with actions and not words.
“I’ve got a lot to prove to myself,” Richardson told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. “It’s not about everybody else this time, it’s about me. I’m really giving it my all. It’s enough talk. We’ve been doing a lot of talking. Now it’s just time to put up.”
Harbaugh is coming off the first losing campaign of head coaching career. The Ravens won just five games this past season, although the club did sweep the playoff-bound Pittsburgh Steelers.
If Baltimore is to bounce back to respectability and in playoff contention, their ground attack must rebound in a big way. In 2014, only seven teams in the league gained more yards rushing than the Ravens.
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It was part of a 10-6 finish for the club and a postseason appearance, knocking off the Steelers in Pittsburgh in the wild card before losing a heartbreaker to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots one week later.
Yes, the Trent Richardson experiment with this club could be a total failure. The young performer hasn’t shown much since that rookie season of 2012. But there have been stranger comeback stories than this in NFL annals. And given his track record, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome has earned the benefit of the doubt.