Alabama Football: Trent Richardson signs to play in CFL

Playing in the CFL to resurrect a career in the NFL is not that unusual. Running back Ricky Williams did it. Quarterback Doug Flutie did it. Quarterback Jeff Garcia had some great years in the NFL, but he learned his craft in the CFL. Hall-of-Famers Warren Moon and Joe Theismann actually started playing professional football in the CFL, becoming legends before they even started playing for an NFL team.

However, if one picked up on the theme, the CFL is a quarterback’s league. Running backs, just like Richardson was for the Colts, are often an afterthought.

The CFL field is ten yards longer in the middle, making the 55-yard line the center. The field is also much wider, making offensive coordinators strategize varied passing routes. Especially because Canadian football allows for 12 men to be on the field for both teams and all of the slot receivers can get a head start running towards the line of scrimmage before the ball is handed to the quarterback.

Oh, and there are only three downs, not four.

That’s right. If the offense does not get a first down in two plays, they either have to punt the ball away or try risking it on third down.

These rules make the league a passing league, with running backs mainly used to pick up short yardage or put on special teams to run back kicks.

Richardson will also need to shine brightly very quickly, as the CFL season only has about six regular season games left before heading into the playoffs. He, however, will not be playing against the Calgary Stampeders this Friday, so that he can learn the playbook and schemes better:

When asked about head coach Chris Jones, who has ties to Alabama, Richardson said:

Yes, the Saskatchewan crowd may not be Alabama, but they will welcome Richardson with open arms. The fans wearing green watermelons for helmets, showing off their pride like the cheeseheads for the Green Bay Packers, will embrace Richardson whole-heartedly. There are no professional sports teams other than the Roughriders in the province, making them the sole outlet for Rider Pride to show its love of sports. Saskatchewan only has a couple of major cities, small compared to most cities in the United States. Yet, the stadium is always full for Rider games with fans going crazy for each play made.

If Richardson can show why he was a star with Alabama in Saskatchewan, he will instantly be a fan favorite. The team has a .500 record in the CFL’s west division and will need a boost to stay in the playoff hunt (they only need to beat one team in the division to make that happen).

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Richardson, if he wishes to get an opportunity in the NFL, must show Rider Nation how good he can be.

Will he get a ton of carries? No. Still, Richardson will get that opportunity to run some defenders over and can also show off the soft hands that he had catching the ball both in Alabama and in the NFL. If Richardson can rack up a great deal of yardage after the catch, there may be a place for him on an NFL team, as the league has lately had a pass-first mentality as well.

Maybe Richardson’s comeback in a passing league has come at just the right time.