Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot on the health of RB T...
Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot on the health of RB Trent Richardson:
From all the conversations that I've had on the record and off, the club does expect Richardson to be ready for training camp July 25 and feel it's nothing more than a muscle strain. Richardson is still on track to begin a running program in two weeks, and there's no way he'd be doing that if they were worried about a stress fracture.
Richardson said the injury wasn't serious enough to warrant an MRI, but I'm sure his surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, will examine the leg when Richardson is back in Pensacola, where Andrews has a clinic. Andrews has repaired both of Richardson's ankles and has performed both scopes on his knee. He knows T-Rich better than any doctor, and will provide input on the training regimen and timetable. If the Browns decide to hold him out another week after camp opens just to be on the safe side, I don't think that's earth-shattering.
We're not panicking about Richardson's shin, but he has had trouble staying healthy in his short career so he's not without some risk. We believe he holds late first round value in 2013.