The Associated Press
REGINA — After an afternoon of conflicting reports, Saskatchewan Roughriders GM and head coach Chris Jones addressed rumours that his club had been in talks with former University of Alabama and NFL running back Trent Richardson.
“He’s on our neg list,” Jones told Riderville.com‘s Ian Hamilton and a host of reporters on Tuesday. “We’ve had discussions with him. Evidently, there are some problems getting him here.
“He was supposed to be up here already. He’s not here, so we’ll see if he ever gets up here to play.”
Richardson was selected in the first round, third overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2012 NFL Draft. He played in 15 games in his rookie season, rushing 267 times for 950 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“A lot of these people think that we’re in the business of developing NFL players,” Jones continued. “That’s not what we’re in the business of doing. We’re in the business of winning CFL football games.”
The 27-year-old Richardson played just two games in his second year with the Browns, rushing for 105 yards on 31 carries. He was then traded to the Indianapolis Colts in September of 2013 where he played in 14 games but made just eight starts. He collected 458 yards on 157 carries and three touchdowns that season.
In his final year with the Colts in 2014, the 5-foot-9, 230-pounder suited up in 15 games and collected 519 rushing yards on 159 carries while also finding the end zone three times.
With the Richardson situation at somewhat of a standstill, Jones insisted that his attention sits squarely on the Riders’ next opponent.
“I don’t even care,” he said when pressed on the Richardson issue. “I’m trying to beat the Edmonton Eskimos. If he gets here, that’s great — he’ll help our football team — but right now it doesn’t even matter to me.”
– With files from Riderville.com
