Oakland Raiders agree to terms with RB Trent Richardson
With the DeMarco Murray sweepstakes officially over, after the veteran running back signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Oakland Raiders were once again forced to explore other options in free agency. The team had seemingly no interest in retaining longtime back Darren McFadden, who ultimately signed with the Dallas Cowboys, and now have gone with the recently released Trent Richardson formerly of the Indianapolis Colts.
According to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport, the Raiders have signed Richardson to a two-year deal:
#Raiders sign RB Trent Richardson to a 2-year worth $3.9M total, source said. It can go up to $4M per year based on incentives.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2015
Back in September of 2013, the Cleveland Browns surprised everyone by trading their star running back to the Colts. Richardson was arguably the Browns best player and one of the top backs in the league. Most believed the deal would make Indianapolis an offensive juggernaut with the one-two punch of Andrew Luck and Richardson, but the Alabama product never got going with the Colts.
As for the Raiders, the move to sign Richardson leaves many scratching their heads. Oakland already has a talented young back in Latavius Murray and the consensus has been he’ll be the back the team intends to pair with second-year quarterback Derek Carr. Unfortunately, the signing of Richardson seems to indicate the opposite.
Oakland also recently signed veteran running back Roy Helu giving the team three young and talented backs, but the depth chart has yet to be determined. Richardson will likely be the starter with Murray backing him up next season. Helu could be used in different packages or simply in third down situations.
As usual, the Raiders are among the bottom of the pack in the NFL in terms of odds to win the next Super Bowl. According to Sportsbook.ag, Oakland has 100 to 1 odds to come out on top in Super Bowl 50.
