Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson carries the ball during an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore. The Browns have traded Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts in a surprise move less than two years after drafting him in the first round. The Browns (0-2), struggling on offense under new coach Rob Chudzinski, announced the move Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 18. They will also bring in veteran running back Willis McGahee for a physical.

BEREA, Ohio — Not long ago, Trent Richardson was viewed as a cornerstone for Cleveland’s future.

On Wednesday, he became part of its recent inglorious past.

The Browns traded the powerful running back to Indianapolis in a stunning move just two games into the season and one year after drafting Richardson in the first round.

The team’s new front office dealt Richardson for a first-round draft pick next year, when the team will have two opening-round selections and 10 overall. Cleveland is rebuilding again and the team hopes to use those picks — seven in the first four rounds — to help turn around a floundering franchise.

Such a reversal was what the Browns had in mind when they took Richardson with the No. 3 overall pick in 2012. The former Alabama standout seemed to have it all: power, speed and good hands.

But Richardson wasn’t the kind of back Cleveland’s front office wants or apparently suited first-year coach Rob Chudzinski’s offense.

He lacked the explosiveness the Browns’ new regime was looking for, and it may not have helped that Richardson made it clear he wanted the ball more.

However, Browns CEO Joe Banner said there was nothing negative about Richardson and the team simply seized an opportunity to improve. And the Colts have been looking for a back since Vick Ballard suffered a season-ending knee injury.

“This was more about the moment presented itself,” Banner said, “and based on the situation the Colts found themselves in, it wasn’t something where we could say, `Can you wait three weeks to think about this or learn more?’”