Although Richardson has been outplayed by every back to audition in the Colts backfield the past two years, coach Chuck Pagano is not yet prepared to wave the white flag on a young player acquired for a first-round draft pick.

“He’s a professional, he understands,” Pagano said Monday, via ESPN.com. “None of us can ever get away from working at our craft regardless of the circumstance, regardless of adversity, just keep grinding, just keep working, just keep swinging the ax. If he keeps swinging the ax, the tree will fall. If you put the ax down, the tree is never coming down. Just keep chopping wood, and good things will happen.”

via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com