Colts General Manager Ryan Grigson said at his postseason press conference that the team would not have won 12 total games this season without running back Trent Richardson.
The obvious quip in retort is that they might have won more because Richardson did so little to help the offense after being acquired from the Browns for a first-round pick during the season. Richardson added a fumble in the playoff win over the Chiefs to his regular season struggles, which Richardson believes were at least partially caused by his unfamiliarity with the offense.
Gaining that familiarity is Richardson’s top priority this offseason with a little time saved to pick the brains of backs who have found a little more running room in their careers.
“Learn the system, not just memorizing it,” Richardson said, via Mike Wells of ESPN.com. “Learning the whole concept of the system. There’s a difference between having it memorized and feeling comfortable with the system. I’m going talk to a lot of veteran players, talk to Adrian [Peterson], talk to [LaDainian Tomlinson], talk to Emmitt Smith to make sure I’m the best I need to be next year.”
Richardson says he’s motivated to “contribute to the team” in 2014 after hearing the complaints about his lack of production after the trade. Donald Brown, who replaced Richardson in the starting lineup, is a free agent and may not return, which should give Richardson even more motivation to make Grigson reach a little less when discussing the trade after next season.