BEREA (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Browns are “very optimistic” that running back Trent Richardson will be on the field week 1 vs. Philadelphia.

Those were the words used by coach Pat Shurmur Sunday morning when asked about the status of the No. 3 overall pick in the draft.

“He is making great progress,” Shurmur said. “He’ll be out there soon.”

When asked if Richardson could be on the field as early as Sunday Shurmur said, “We’ll see. He’s doing great and he’ll be out there soon.”

Richardson underwent a second arthroscopic surgery in 6 months on his left knee on Aug. 9 to remove a small piece of cartilege that was causing swelling an irritation in his knee.

Richardson underwent the first procedure in early February to repair a torn meniscus – an injury which he sustained during Alabama’s BCS Championship victory over LSU.

He is expected to rejuvenate an offense that scored just 218 points and a running game that rushed for a combined 1,531 yards and just 4 touchdowns a season ago.

“The synergy with the passing game, being able to run the football is extremely important,” Shurmur said. “You as writers will decide if we’re a run first, pass first team but if you have a runner back there that folks need to defend then of course it helps in a lot of ways.”

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