According to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager and ESPN Analyst Mark Dominik, the Indianapolis Colts could potentially void the last year of running back Trent Richardson‘s contract, in which he is owed $3.18MM guaranteed in 2015:
The suspension of Trent Richardson will allow the Colts to walk away from the 3.18 guar for 2015. His contract has strong voiding language.
— Mark Dominik (@MarkdominikNFL) January 23, 2015
As indicated by Colts General Manager Ryan Grigson earlier today, Richardson was suspended by the Colts’ organization for the final 2 games of the postseason. However, Grigson wouldn’t disclose why, only saying that Richardson left the team because of “personal reasons”. However, the news that Richardson was first suspended, at least as it relates to the AFC Championship, was actually first broken by Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun earlier this week:
Besides deactivating him, Colts also suspended running back Trent Richardson for the AFC championship game
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 21, 2015
Given the news and his potential cap hit, it’s very likely that we have seen the last of Trent Richardson in a Colts’ uniform. After surrendering their 2014 first round pick to the Cleveland Browns to acquire the once-heralded running back in a trade, Richardson has largely been a disappointment in his near two seasons with his new team.
Regarding Richardson, Grigson was also noncommittal on the running back’s future in his Friday press conference, saying (per ESPN):
"“Where’s he fit? Where’s he going? Is his arrow up, down, sideways, 45-degree angle?” Grigson said. “And we have to figure all these things out with guys in all different types of situations on this roster. There are guys across the board that are in a lot of different situations. But, again, when the coaches come back, when we seeing what’s actually out there — we have an idea, draft, juniors that have declared and things like that — once that evolves we’ll have a much better feel for what we need to do.”"
Those comments aren’t exactly a ringing endorsement by a front office executive that once paid a hefty price to acquire Richardson. In fact, it looks like the door is slowly being closed on Trent Richardson’s tenure as an Indianapolis Colt.
Oct 5, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts running back Trent Richardson (34) walks off the field after the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis defeats Baltimore 28-13. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports