Colts hope suspension voids Richardson’s guaranteed pay for 2015
AP
It’s now clear that the two-game suspension imposed by the Colts on running back Trent Richardsonbefore the AFC title game had a broader purpose. The suspension, if it sticks, voids the $3.184 million guaranteed salary that Colts owe Richardson in 2015, allowing them to cut him without financial consequence.
Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star reports that Richardson’s suspension resulted from the player rushing his pregnant girlfriend to the hospital when she appeared to be in labor at only 28 weeks. The situation caused Richardson to miss a Saturday walk-through practice, and to miss the flight to New England for the next day’s game.
If Richardson can prove that his version is true, he could have a good chance at winning the inevitable grievance challenging the suspension. The Colts understandably will search for ways to poke holes in the story, especially since the Colts may suspect that Richardson, who was a surprise healthy scratch for the playoff win at Denver, was looking for an excuse to stay home, if the team once again was planning not to use the player whom the Browns traded up to select at No. 3 in the 2012 draft — and for whom the Colts gave up a 2014 first-round draft pick to acquire during the 2013 season.
The stakes, coupled with Richardson’s ineffective, may justify an effort to wipe Richardson’s guaranteed salary from the books. But unless the Colts have a smoking gun to show that Richardson was lying, they probably should tread lightly. If the team already was planning not to use him on Sunday and if his story was true, the Colts will come out of this as the villains.
Then again, they may be willing to wear the black hat if it allows them to keep $3.184 million in cash and cap space.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...on-voids-richardsons-guaranteed-pay-for-2015/
It’s now clear that the two-game suspension imposed by the Colts on running back Trent Richardsonbefore the AFC title game had a broader purpose. The suspension, if it sticks, voids the $3.184 million guaranteed salary that Colts owe Richardson in 2015, allowing them to cut him without financial consequence.
Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star reports that Richardson’s suspension resulted from the player rushing his pregnant girlfriend to the hospital when she appeared to be in labor at only 28 weeks. The situation caused Richardson to miss a Saturday walk-through practice, and to miss the flight to New England for the next day’s game.
If Richardson can prove that his version is true, he could have a good chance at winning the inevitable grievance challenging the suspension. The Colts understandably will search for ways to poke holes in the story, especially since the Colts may suspect that Richardson, who was a surprise healthy scratch for the playoff win at Denver, was looking for an excuse to stay home, if the team once again was planning not to use the player whom the Browns traded up to select at No. 3 in the 2012 draft — and for whom the Colts gave up a 2014 first-round draft pick to acquire during the 2013 season.
The stakes, coupled with Richardson’s ineffective, may justify an effort to wipe Richardson’s guaranteed salary from the books. But unless the Colts have a smoking gun to show that Richardson was lying, they probably should tread lightly. If the team already was planning not to use him on Sunday and if his story was true, the Colts will come out of this as the villains.
Then again, they may be willing to wear the black hat if it allows them to keep $3.184 million in cash and cap space.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...on-voids-richardsons-guaranteed-pay-for-2015/
