Trent Richardson Trade: Cleveland Browns Erasing All Signs Of Former Running Back

Trent Richardson was sent to the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday in a shocking trade, and within hours the Cleveland Browns have gone to work erasing all signs of their former No. 3 overall pick.

Richardson was dealt on Wednesday to the Colts in exchange for a 2014 first-round pick, signalling the start of a rebuilding era for the Browns. The trade was seen as an acknowledgment that Richardson did not fit into the team’s long-term plans, and that the Browns seem content to focus on the future rather than the 14 games remaining in the 2013 season.

While there were no hard feelings with Trent Richardson, the Browns have still been quick to remove all indications that he was with the team. Already Browns officials have taken his pictures down from the team’s website and made a sweep of the stadium to remove posters and other signs with his image.

“We began the process last night and will take a good 24 hours to take inventory and make some decisions,” team spokesman Zak Gilbert said Thursday.

The Browns will have a bit of time to work with at home, as the team doesn’t have another home game until September 29.

Some tasks, like removing his image from the website, have been easy. But others will prove more difficult, like the decision of whether the re-print the team’s schedule booklet, which has Trent Richardson on the cover.

It won’t be as hard a task nationally. Richardson’s jersey did not rank among the top 25 most popular jerseys nationwide, and in only his second year in the league he had not been utilized much in national marketing efforts.

But erasing all signs of Trent Richardson after the trade would be a nearly impossible task. On a team devoid of big-name stars, Richardson’s No. 33 jersey was one of the most popular with Cleveland Browns fans.