Former first-round bust Trent Richardson has one final opportunity to prove that he can make it in the National Football League.
After falling flat in stints with the Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders following a trade from the Cleveland Browns during the 2013 season, Richardson caught on with the Baltimore Ravens on a deal that includes no guaranteed money.
Now fighting for his career, Richardson apparently isn’t in the shape that’s needed for him to make an impact on the field.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said as much just recently.
“Trent just needs to get healthy. I think the workload and the amount of work it takes to be a world-class conditioned athlete is something that he’s working on right now,” Harbaugh said last week, via ESPN. “That’s what he needs to understand, and that’s where he needs to get himself.”
Richardson missed the entire first week of Baltimore’s organized team activities with a hamstring injury. This comes after the Ravens waited until mid April to sign the former top-five pick in large part due to his weight issue.
“When he gets himself (in shape), he’s got talent,” Harbaugh continued. “I’m very certain he’ll get there. And when he does, we’ll be able to evaluate him.”
That’s the problem. Baltimore can’t even evaluate Richardson right now because he’s not healthy and out of shape.
This doesn’t bode well for Richardson’s ability to make the Ravens’ roster, especially with Justin Forsett, Terrance West and rookie mid-round pick Kenneth Dixon ahead of him on the depth chart.
It’s a sad reality for a player that entered the NFL as one of the most-heralded running back prospects in modern history.
After putting up over 1,300 total yards and 12 scores as a rookie, Richardson saw his performance plummet during a 2013 season that ended with him tallying just 2.9 yards per rush as a member of the Colts.
Richardson’s last regular season action came with Indianapolis in 2014 when he put up just 519 yards on 159 attempts. He was signed by the Raiders last spring only to be released by the team during the preseason.
If Richardson doesn’t make it in Baltimore, we can pretty much close the book on his career. And in reality, that would be a sad culmination to a once promising career.