Richardson Working With Punt Coverage Team in Practice

Just minutes after writing that Trent Richardson‘s role with the Indianapolis Colts is fairly uncertain going forward in the playoffs, the team has shed some light on his situation in today’s practice. According to the Indianapolis Star’s Zak Keefer:

It appears that Richardson has unofficially been demoted. If he were expected to play an extensive role in the Colts’ backfield on Sunday, it’s highly doubtful that he’d be risking injury on special teams. More than likely, former 3rd-string running back Zurlon Tipton has jumped Richardson on the team’s running back depth chart after his solid performance last weekend.

Indianapolis Colts running back Trent Richardson (34) sat on the sideline most of the game as teammate Indianapolis Colts running back Dan Herron (36) got most of the running action in the game against the Washington Redskins at Lucas Oil Stadium on Nov. 30, 2014. The Colts beat the Redskins 49-27.

(Photo: Matt Detrich/The Star

As for special teams, it doesn’t appear like it’s a glowing fit for Richardson, but then again, it probably wasn’t necessarily for power back Zurlon Tipton either, who has played on the Colts’ special teams units previously.

For the Colts, we’ve seen special teams demotions in the past. Most recently, we saw it with LaRon Landry this season who just regained his starting safety job, but it also occurred in 2013, when Darrius Heyward-Bey was demoted from being a starting wideout to purely playing on the Colts’ special teams coverage units.

While it’s not definitive, it’s starting to look like Richardson has been benched for ineffectiveness all together and is now the team’s 3rd-string running back. It’s a delicate situation well-worth monitoring as the week progresses.