Former Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren wanted Trent Richardson badly enough in the 2012 NFL Draft that he traded three picks just to move up one spot to select the former Alabama star. He would have given up much, much more for Andrew Luck.
During an interview with Dave “Softy” Mahler on Sports Radio 950 KJR in Seattle on Thursday, Holmgren spoke about a conversation he had with Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson at the owners meetings last year. Holmgren said the two were sitting by the pool — cocktails in hand — when he told Grigson he was willing to trade his entire draft for the No. 1 overall pick.
“I talked to (Grigson) before we made the trade and said I’ll give you all of our draft picks for the No. 1 pick and I’ll take Luck,” Holgrem said. “I’ll give the whole draft to you.”
Did Holmgren think he would be taken seriously? It doesn’t sound like it.
[Related: Mike Holmgren rips Browns for Trent Richardson trade]
“We were at the pool and he was having one of those little drinks with an umbrella in it, so I thought I could take advantage of him,” Holmgren joked. “I said, ‘Brian, let’s just do the deal. Right here, right now.’ I probably offered it knowing he wouldn’t take it.”
Holmgren added that Grigson didn’t bother taking the offer to Irsay because the team had already made up its mind about drafting Luck, which he says was clearly the right choice. Now, only a year later, the Colts have both Luck and Richardson. And all they had to trade was what will likely become a mid- to late-first round pick in the 2014 draft. On paper, life is good in Indy.
