Cleveland Browns: Trent Richardson's Knee Injury Not Good for Mike Holmgren with Jimmy Haslam Lurking

By Bear Heiser
Senior Writer

Trent Richardson‘s career with the Cleveland Browns is not off to the best start.

Richardson has been watching training camp practices from the sidelines due to a knee injury. While the injury was not deemed to be serious when it was first reported, Browns’ team doctors conducted an MRI and clearly were not happy with the results.

Richardson is now set to have the knee looked at on Thursday by one of the world’s most renowned orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews. And rarely is it good news when an athlete has to see Andrews for an injury. At least Andrews is familiar with Richardson’s knees, though, seeing as he just performed arthroscopic surgery on one of them back in February.

UPDATE: Richardson will reportedly have arthroscopic surgery on his injured knee sometime Thursday. No timetable has been set for his return.

The Browns play preseason game No. 1 on Friday against the Detroit Lions and Richardson isn’t expected to play. Backup Montario Hardesty, a second-round pick in 2010, has gotten off to a great start in camp and will likely take over the starter’s duties.

Related: Cleveland Browns: Naming Brandon Weeden the Starter A Smart Move by Pat Shurmur

While it’s too soon to sound the alarm in Cleveland, this news is definitely a crushing blow. The Browns gave up a lot in the draft to move up for Richardson, and this is hardly the kind of news team president Mike Holmgren wants to see just a week into Jimmy Haslam‘s tenure as team owner.

The timing of Richardson’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for both Holmgren and the organization itself, and the team doesn’t yet know what’s going to happen to stud cornerback Joe Haden for reportedly failing a drug test. A possible four-game suspension? Again, not good news.

It had been such a good couple of weeks for the Browns, too, as morale spiked when head coach Pat Shurmur anointed rookie Brandon Weeden the team’s starting quarterback. But now morale is back at a level of which Browns’ fans are more used to—down in the dumps.

Haslam completed the sale last week, and there already have been reports this possibly being Holmgren’s final season in Cleveland. If Richardson is forced to miss any significant amount of time, you can add another couple of nails in Holmgren’s coffin. If he misses the season, don’t be surprised if Holmgren is forced to miss part of the season, too.

Overall, not a good day for the Browns. If that’s not an understatement…

Follow Bear on Twitter: @BearHeiser

Seattle Seahawks: Terrell Owens Agrees to 1-Year Deal, Pete Carroll Hoping for a Renaissance