Trent Richardson Cut a Reminder of Uncertainty for Colts' Recent Roster Moves

In many ways, Thursday was the beginning of Act 2 for Ryan Grigson. 

In a move ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported, Grigson—the Indianapolis Colts' general manager—waived running back Trent Richardson in a clear-cut admission of a mistake made not that long ago. Thankfully for the Colts, the move will be viewed as little more than a footnote in an offseason that also includes the additions of running back Frank Gore and wide receiver Andre Johnson.

Are Colts fans feeling any better about Gore and Johnson than many once did about Richardson? More importantly, should they? No, really...should they?

This is the splashiest offseason Grigson has seen since the year he took over.

That was 2012, and a heralded young Grigson arrived from the Philadelphia Eagles where he had served as the director of player personnel on a mission to rescue the hapless 2-14 Colts. It was the post-Peyton Manning era, and it had been a total mess. Grigson was supposed to clean things up. 

It was a pretty quick fix with the No. 1 draft pick in a year with the stellar Andrew Luck available. Drafting the former Stanford quarterback was a no-brainer in the surest possible sense. Though some may have flirted with the idea of Robert Griffin III at the time, Luck had been considered the best player in that draft class for years, and all Grigson had to do was stay chalk and pull the trigger. 

Largely due to that selection, the Colts rebounded to 11-5 the next year and have won two straight AFC South titles heading into this offseason. 

Luck wasn't Grigson's only move, however. 

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Since taking over just three seasons ago, Grigson has done his level best to remake almost the entire roster in his image and to the preferences of head coach Chuck Pagano and his staff. Gone are the Tampa 2 defenders of Jim Caldwell and Tony Dungy. Gone are the pet projects of former general manager Bill Polian and his front office.

Make no mistake about it. This is Grigson's team. This is Pagano's team. 

There is no coattail-riding on previous regimes.

That's what makes Thursday's news somewhat troubling, even if it isn't all that surprising.

To acquire Richardson, Grigson sent a first-round draft pick to the Cleveland Browns in September 2013. Though the Alabama product hadn't really done anything of note during his time with Cleveland, this was the second time in two years someone spent a first-round pick on him.

In his three NFL seasons, Richardson has played in 46 games and rushed for 2,032 yards, averaging just 3.3 yards per carry. That average, along with his 17 rushing touchdowns and eight fumbles, help paint the picture of a young man who has consistently been thrown into action and done almost nothing about it. 

Now the Colts are done with him. 

Richardson, for his part, doesn't think he's the only one to share the blame for his poor play over the past couple of seasons, as ESPN.com's Mike Wells relayed:

It's a little maddening to see a player with so much natural talent—even after his knee surgery—perform so poorly at the NFL level. Those comments may provide some window into the reasons he hasn't been able to elevate his play. 

Richardson did not somehow hoodwink the Browns and Colts, though.

This is a prospect just about everyone loved. Had the Browns not selected him third overall, someone would have taken him in the next couple of picks. If the Colts hadn't traded for him, another team would've salivated at the chance. 

Here's what Polian, working for ESPN, had to say about Richardson before the 2012 NFL draft, via Cleveland.com:

"

Appearing as a guest on Sirius XM NFL Blitz on Sirius XM Radio on Monday, former Indianapolis Colts vice chairman Bill Polian—now an analyst for ESPN—called Luck, Griffin and Alabama running back Trent Richardson the "three sure-thing players" in the class of 2012.

"

Well, one out of three isn't so bad...

No one knows the future, and it's silly to start proclaiming winners and losers in March when the games don't start for roughly half a year. Offseason "winning" doesn't always lead to the same on the field. 

There's more to it than that. 

Name	Position	Year Added	Current Status
Gosder Cherilus	OT	2013	Finished 2014 season on IR
Donald Thomas	OG	2013	Finished both 2013 and 2014 on IR
LaRon Landry	S	2013	Released; serving 10-game PED ban
Erik Walden	OLB	2013	Disappointing 2013, improved in 2014
Ricky Jean-Francois	DE	2013	Cap casualty
Donnie Avery	WR	2012	Huge disappointment, cut by Chiefs this year
Tom Zbikowski	S	2012	Cut next offseason, out of the NFL at 28
Samson Satele	C	2012	Cap casualty

These recent moves have a flavor reminiscent of Grigson's earlier additions. Much like with Richardson, he's been extremely willing to admit and move on from his mistakes, which could be saving him from eating the crow another general manager might. 

Having a quarterback like Luck helps there, too. 

As the Colts turn the page from Richardson, let's not rush to praise moves that may not wind up being any better. Grigson has handed a combined $17.5 million guaranteed to Gore and Johnson, who are a combined 64 years of age. Their best football is almost certainly behind them, and these are not the sort of moves that scream long-term success. 

The Colts added Gore and Johnson for the same reason they added Richardson—Luck needs help, just like every other quarterback does. Trading for Richardson when the Browns made him available was a bit of a shortcut, just like signing a couple of aging former superstars is this offseason.

Grigson doesn't have the sort of pro scouting track record to prove this will go any better.

Overall, this doesn't really change much about a Colts team that has a clear path to the playoffs as long as the rest of the AFC South remains terrible and has a championship window as long as Luck's career.

It also doesn't change that the caliber of talent on the team continues to go up, and Grigson should be commended for some of the recent draft picks—wide receivers Donte Moncrief and T.Y. Hilton chief among them—who have become promising pros.

It's just difficult to look at Grigson's track record in light of Richardson's release and wonder what exactly the young general manager has learned.  

Michael Schottey is an award-winning NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and a writer for Football Insiders. Follow him on Twitter.