Indianapolis Colts News: Trent Richardson Missed Team Flight Because Of Dangerous Complications During Girlfriend’s Pregnancy

The Indianapolis Colts suspended Trent Richardson for the playoffs after the running back missed a team walkaround and then wasn’t on the chartered flight to the AFC Championship, and now the reason for his absence has finally come out.

It turns out that Richardson’s girlfriend, who was 28 weeks pregnant at the time, was having complications and appeared to be going into premature labor, the Indianapolis Star reported. Sources told the paper that Richardson rushed to the hospital on January 17, when his teammates were getting ready to leave for New England.

Until this point, it was a bit of a mystery why Trent Richardson missed the plane. Some assumed that the former first round pick was simply mad at the team after losing his spot in the lineup. There were also some false rumors that Richardson’s mother had died.

Trent Richardson didn’t give any details at the time, but made reference to a family emergency and said he would not have walked out on his team.

“I had to miss walk-through,” Richardson told ESPN. “I’m dealing with a very serious family emergency. I’m still at the hospital. I wouldn’t purposely just miss walk-through.”

Richardson slammed the rumors that he had quit on the team, saying he was still loyal to them.

“I wouldn’t just purposely turn my back on the team,” Richardson told ESPN. “I would have been there if I wasn’t dealing with this issue.”

The incident marked a long and difficult stretch for Trent Richardson. After being picked No. 3 in the draft by the Cleveland Browns, he struggled to find his place in the NFL, averaging just a little more than three yards a carry in his career. Richardson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts, but lost his starting spot and eventually fell below even former practice squad running back Zurlon Tipton on the depth chart.

It is unclear what could happen next, but some believe the Indianapolis Colts may want to release Trent Richardson, and would be able to use his suspension as the reason.

This would be a difficult sell, Shutdown Corner‘s Eric Edholm noted.

“But the Colts could face a public-relations nightmare, though. People will hear ‘pregnant girlfriend’ and ‘premature labor’ and lose their minds if that’s deemed the reason the Colts will try to get out of the bad contract they took on.”

If Trent Richardson does return to the Indianapolis Colts, it is unclear where he would stand on the depth chart, or if he would even survive through training camp cuts.