The Trent Richardson Trade

There aren't many stories that make me go WHOA (the last one was Brad Stevens to the Celtics), but this one certainly did. I was eating dinner and came back to about 10 texts on my phone. Let's break it down:

Obviously the Browns management wanted to maximize the value of an asset. If Richardson had another disappointing season like 2012, then Lombardi and Banner felt they wouldn't get a first-round pick for Richardson in a trade. Rumors would come out that the Browns don't like Richardson in the long term and his value plummets to a Marshawn Lynch value

For whatever reason, Trent Richardson hasn't been as productive in the pros as he was in the SEC. You can make a number of arguments (rib injury as a rookie, bad QB, defenses stacking the box) but he hasn't been anywhere near worthy of a top-three pick. Running backs in the NFL rarely need time to adjust. You know quickly (unlike wide receivers) if they are superstars.

Whether you like the trade or think the Browns should have gotten more, as a fan, this stinks. Just under a year and a half ago, Richardson was hailed as a building block. Now he is in Indianapolis and the Browns are hitting the reboot button again. The 2013 season is pretty much over. Granted, things can't get much worse than the production this offense got from Weeden and Richardson in the first two games, but it's not realistic to expect very many wins with Hoyer and whoever is in the backfield.

So now we are on to building for the 2014 season. What makes us optimistic? The area (front seven) the Browns management focused on during the offseason is greatly improved. The Browns are accumulating a lot of assets — two first-round picks, two third-round picks and two fourth-round picks — for what is looking like a very strong 2014 quarterback class.

In 2014, the Browns are going to have a potential franchise QB, an upgraded stadium, a possible uniform re-design and more free agents (a high-level wide receiver and defensive back are very possible). It always feels like we are waiting for next year with the team  any team in the city, but I am cautiously optimistic. Banner and Lombardi put a lot of faith in themselves with this trade and pretty much called out Holmgren and Heckert for making a bad trade.

I stole all of these from other people, but here we go:

SellForManziel/JohnnyDawgpound
WetTheBeddyForTeddy/BlowForBridgewater
SuckForTheDuck
TankForTajh/BombForBoyd
FailForFales