Cleveland Browns GM Tom Heckert, coach Pat Shurmur back RB Trent Richardson for season opener – NFL News
The Cleveland Browns’ top brasses have backed rookie running back Trent Richardson for the season opener next week but have refused to elaborate his current situation as far as recovery from a minor knee operation is concerned, most probably due to the reason
that they want their opponents of the season’s starting game the Philadelphia Eagles know little about the player’s status.
General manager Tom Heckert said that Richardson has been progressing well since having the microscopic procedure done on his knee earlier last month but remained short of speculating if they expect him for the season opener.
Tom said:
"This kid is a little different cat. I think he's ready to go pretty quick compared to some guys I've been around. Shape-wise, you do not have to worry about that at all."
He added:
"I don't think we're going to let him touch the ball 50 times. But hey, if he's ready to go, he's ready to go."
Coach Pat Shurmur was even more conservative when it came to disclosure of information around the prospects of Richardson showing up for the starting game of the season.
According to the coach:
"He's been doing great behind the scenes as far as getting himself ready to play. You've got to understand at this point now, we don't have to talk about that stuff, and I think it's important that our guys race to get back.”
So while it appears that both officials wanted to admit they expected the running back hundred percent at the opening of the season, they did not want to concede it in open terms, either as a strategy to leave their opposition guessing about their line-up
or due to restrictions of the league.
According to some independent reports, the player is most likely to be available for the starting game given the arthroscopic surgery needs only a couple of weeks to heal. It will be exactly a month on September 09 since the player had the surgery (on August
09), so he should be ready for action by then.
It is reflective in the officials’ remarks that they do not expect the player to undergo any conditioning or training activity and if he is available, which is surely the case, they will send him on the field straightaway.
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