Christian Hackenberg has been a disaster in the Alliance of American Football, but another former NFL draft bust is making the most of the chance the AAF is giving him.
Trent Richardson, the former No. 3 overall pick, is continuing to play well for the Birmingham Iron, scoring another touchdown on a tough run up the middle in the second quarter of today’s game. Richardson is the AAF’s leader this season with four rushing touchdowns.
None of this means Richardson is going to get another chance in the NFL. It’s entirely possible that NFL teams will look at Richardson’s extraordinarily underwhelming performance with the Browns and Colts (and his inability to even make the 53-man roster after signing with the Raiders and the Ravens) and decide that he simply isn’t good enough to play at the highest level.
But Richardson is doing enough in the AAF that there will at least be teams considering bringing him in for a look this year. After he spent two full seasons without getting so much as a spot on a 90-man training camp roster, it’s a credit to him that he hasn’t given up and is putting himself in the mix for one more chance in the NFL.
UPDATE 6:10 p.m. ET: Richardson scored another touchdown in the third quarter, giving him a league-leading five on the season. He then scored the two-point conversion after that touchdown.
UPDATE II 6:39 p.m. ET: Richardson scored his third touchdown of the day in the fourth quarter, giving him a league-leading six on the season.