Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson’s hit on Philadelphia Eagles safety Kurt Coleman last September was the primary example used by the league to illustrate what an illegal blow will look like under the league’s new rule implemented on Wednesday.
Now Richardson wants to apologize to the rest of the running backs that will be affected by the rule change.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Richardson feels it’s his fault the new rule is in place.
“I feel like I made it bad for all the backs. I feel like it’s my fault,” Richardson said.
Richardson lowered his head and drove the top of his helmet into Coleman’s chest. The blow sent Coleman’s helmet flying. Now the play would be flagged for a 15-yard penalty and violators could be fined. The new rule was passed by a 31-1 vote on Wednesday.
Richardson said he doesn’t intend to change his running style and will likely just have pay any fines that come his way. Even so, it’s an adjustment all running backs will have to make to avoid costly penalties and potential blows to their paychecks.
“I know why they did it, but I won’t say that I fully agree with it,” Richardson said. “I’m not saying it’s a dumb rule, but the backs are all talking about it and it’s kind of hard on us.”