What Will Trent Richardson's Role on Sunday Be?

After the initial shock of the Colts' trade for Trent Richardson wore off, fans began asking questions like "what number will Richardson wear?" and the infinitely more important "what role will Richardson play on Sunday?"

Well, to answer the first question, Richardson will be wearing number 34 for the Colts.

And to answer the second question, well, let's just let Chuck Pagano do that.  The Colts' head coach said this morning that the Colts "did not bring him in here to be a water boy."  He added that Richardson's workload on Sunday will be "as much as he can handle."

So there's that.  The question of whether Richardson will play Sunday is settled, and it sounds like he'll be a full go.  Which, in all honestly, makes total sense.  It's much easier to integrate a running back mid-season than it is with a lot of the other positions.

As expected, Pagano spent much of his presser raving about his newly acquired running back.  Pagano talked about all kinds of things, such as that playing at Alabama in the SEC is as close as you can get to the NFL and that Richardson's resume speaks for itself.  Pagano evaded the question of whether this trade would have happened had Ballard not gotten hurt by saying that you can never have too many running backs.

Pagano said of the trade that when a name like Richardson comes up, "obviously your ears perk up.  Are you being serious?"

The Colts' coach also mentioned how Richardson is a great fit for the Colts, saying that "this guy is a rolling ball of butcher knives. He fits our scheme to a T."  The scheme fit is something that I thought of Richardson too, as he seems to be a perfect fit for a west coast style offense.  Pagano mentioned Richardson's 51 catches a year ago as an example of how he is a complete back and an every down back.  In watching film of Richardson this year, the Browns didn't use him as their third down back much, but I think he is capable of doing that if the Colts want him to.  That will be interesting to keep an eye on.

And of course, how could we have a press conference talking about a running back without talking about the Colts' being adamant about running the football?  Stop me if you've heard this before, but Pagano said today that, "we can throw it. But you still have to be able to run it to win at this level," before adding that, "you have to have balance."

Pagano also mentioned how he received texts from former players and coaches about the trade, all saying "wow" and thanking him for taking Richardson out of the division (Pagano used to coach in the AFC North with the Ravens).

Some quotes from Trent Richardson's media availabiltiy this afternoon:

• "I'm ready to open up this new chapter in my life especially wit the Colts, a great coaching staff and a great locker room."
• "People can't just stack 9 in the box no more. If you stack 9 in the box, Andrew's got an arm for you."
• [On him and Andrew Luck] "We are going to be here for a while. We are not planning on going no where. We are planning to win a lot of games."

Quick Injury Notes: