Trent Richardson was not exactly a dominant force during his season-plus with the Cleveland Browns, but he is still a talented player with massive potential. For that reason, Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis and the other players and coaches in the AFC North division are happy to see him go.
The Browns have the Bengals on their schedule in Week 4. If bulletin board material is capable of helping a team that just traded its star running back and will likely be without its starting quarterback, Lewis has provided it for Cleveland.
“We go to Cleveland next week,” Lewis said on Sirius XM NFL Radio Wednesday when asked for his thoughts on the trade, according to Around the League. “I’m feeling pretty good about that. Anytime a great young player like Trent Richardson leaves your division — we still get to face each other this year but once instead of twice.”
All joking aside, the comments were much more a compliment to Richardson than an insult to the Browns remaining backfield.
“He’s a fine player and has a big career ahead of him,” Lewis added. “It’s not bad that he drives two hours west of us instead of four hours north.”
The truth of the matter is the Browns became much less of a threat on Wednesday, and they weren’t really one to begin with. They are expected to sign Willis McGahee on Thursday, who we recommend picking up in fantasy. Beyond that, they have four-year veteran Chris Ogbonnaya, who has touched the ball 35 times since the start of last season, and second-year running back Bobby Rainey, who has never recorded an NFL carry. It makes perfect since for Lewis to be glad Richardson has moved on.
