Nagging injuries helped keep Browns running back Trent Richardson from performing at the level expected when the Browns took him with the fourth overall pick in the 2012 draft.
So there’s a familiar feeling to word that Richardson could miss OTAs and the team’s June minicamp with a muscle pull in his lower leg. The injury isn’t though to be particularly serious, but the team’s concerned enough about the injury that coach Rob Chudzinski said Richardson might not be back on the field until training camp.
“It’s precautionary, we’re holding [Richardson] out,” Chudzinski said, via CBS Cleveland. “We’ve got minicamp in a week and a half, he may miss that. I’m not sure we’ll just play it day by day.”
It’s only May, so a cautious approach doesn’t mean all that much in the long term. Given Richardson’s issues last season, however, there’s going to be some concern about Richardson’s ability to consistently be on the field until he proves that he can consistently be on the field. If there’s an upside to his absence, it is that the Browns will have ample opportunity to see who they like from a group of backups that includes Montario Hardesty, Dion Lewis, Brandon Jackson, Chris Ogbonnaya and Miguel Maysonet.
Tight end Jordan Cameron is also being held out with a groin injury and Chudzinski indicated the timeline for his return is similar to the one they’re operating on for Richardson.