Injuries don’t worry Browns’ Richardson

5/31/2013

BEREA, Ohio — Not quite into his second NFL season, Browns running back Trent Richardson has already undergone knee surgery, broken some ribs, hurt his ankle, and strained a muscle in his shin.

He's been battered and bruised, but Richardson is confident he'll be able to stay on the field.

“Injury prone,” he said, “is not going to be me.”

Richardson missed practice on Thursday with a strain in his lower right leg he sustained while running last week. Although the injury isn't believed to be serious, the Browns are being extra careful with the former first-round pick, who may sit out next week's minicamp.

“It ain't no biggie,” Richardson said. “It ain't nothing to worry about.”

As his teammates went through the final session of organized team activities under first-year coach Rob Chudzinski, Richardson worked off to the side on his conditioning. When he was finished and the Browns began to scrimmage, all Richardson could do was watch.

And that's when the real pain kicked in.

“It's terrible, man,” he said. “But I know in my mind that it's not going to be near like last year, being hurt and injured. It's hard to just watch.”

Injuries slowed Richardson during a productive rookie season. He missed the exhibition season recovering from an arthroscopic procedure on his knee, and then played the final 10 games with “two or three” broken ribs, an agonizing injury that would have sidelined most players. Still, the muscular 5-foot-9, 230-pounder managed to rush for 950 yards with 11 touchdowns and added 367 receiving yards.

Chudzinski is confident Richardson can stay healthy.

“I'm not concerned,” he said. “He's healthy from all the things from the past season.”