The Facts: As a member of the Seahawks, Richardson remembered how Richard Sherman and Doug Baldwin practiced every day despite their nagging injuries. They stayed late after practice, they didn’t complain, they remained ready for Sundays. In Washington, the speedy wide receiver had just signed a lucrative multi-year contract in March, brought in to be the team’s deep threat and to clear out opposing defenses, and the last thing he wanted to do was waste a year of Washington’s investment. But the adrenaline couldn’t keep the pain away. On Nov. 5, head coach Jay Gruden announced the team had placed Richardson on Injured Reserve, cutting his season short before the final stretch. Richardson said his clavicle had broken in a couple places, and he had a plate inserted during surgery.
Diehards Line:
Richardson played seven games, catching 20 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns, impacted more through each contest by his shoulder. The training staff, he said, did everything to make him feel comfortable – adjusting his pads, getting him ready with treatment before games – but Richardson refused most of it, relying on his adrenaline to carry him through Sundays. “I’m wearing all this stuff that’s supposed to protect me and it’s stopping me from being me,” he said. “I’d rather be hurt and be able to put on a show than to be limited and almost get there or almost do it and know it’s because all of the stuff they have me doing.” The first couple of months of recovery were challenging. At times he felt depressed, as though deciding to get surgery was an insult to the organization. But the longer he kept playing in pain, he figured, the harder it would be to return to the team at full strength by the start of the 2019 season. “It was time, it was smart,” he admits.