Around The NFL: Troy Cutting His Locks, T-Rich's Attitude, Smith's DUI And Foster Taking Money

Just before the weekend's full slate of games kick off, a crazy day of news has hit the wire and we wanted to relay some of the stories. Luckily, things on the dramatic news front are quiet in Cincinnati, though other NFL cities haven't been as fortunate.

+Let's start with the big story of the week--the Cleveland Browns trading running back Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts. It was quite the shocker when the news was announced on Wednesday, especially with the team who took him No.3 overall seemingly giving up on him so early. However, an interesting perspective was given by FOX Sports' Scott Fujita on the situation. It was worth noting because Fujita played with Richardson last year in Cleveland. He recently said:

"Maybe he’s just not a fit with what the Browns are trying to accomplish organizationally.

It seems strange to say a fresh start is needed for someone who’s beginning his career, but that might be the case here. Guys get drafted all the time to places they just don’t want to be.

I can’t speculate about what’s in any one person’s head, but when a player enters the league wearing headphones incessantly, shows up late for treatments, and makes little effort to engage with his teammates, he can quickly develop a reputation for being insular and high-maintenance.

It can be perceived that he isn’t happy and that he’s not making an effort to buy in. I’ve seen this happen countless times, especially in today’s head down, keep-things-to-yourself culture."

Fujita more than hints at the fact that Richardson wasn't the most ideal of teammates and talks about his potential desire to have never been drafted there in the first place. Perhaps this isn't as one-sided of a deal as most thought, as Richardson can get a fresh start and the Browns can look at getting more pieces in next year's draft.

+You may want to add the University of Tennessee to the list of citable offenders for the NCAA to investigate. A recent documentary by EPIX titled "Schooled: The Price of College Sports", Houston Texans running back Arian Foster admitted to receiving money while playing football. In the documentary, he said:

"I called my coach and I said, 'Coach, we don't have no food. We don't have no money. We're hungry. Either you give us some food, or I'm gonna go do something stupid.' He came down and he brought like 50 tacos for like four or five of us. Which is an NCAA violation. [laughs] But then, I walk up to the facility and I see my coach pull up in a brand new Lexus."

Foster also claimed that he was receiving money on the side while at Tennessee. The more information and former athletes that come forward about their alma mater, the more schools that appear to be headed for sanctions by the NCAA.

+Sometimes one has to simply shake their head in frustration and puzzlement over an athlete's poor decisions. Case in point is San Francisco 49ers defensive end/linebacker Aldon Smith. Uber-talented, multi-millionaire and NFL star, yet he can't seem to get his name out of the headlines for the wrong reasons. Early on Friday morning, Smith was arrested for DUI in the San Jose area after being involved in an early morning crash.

The DUI is his second and that is just the tip of the iceberg of legal troubles mounting with him. He is now entrenched in a lawsuit that he fired a gun illegally wile hosting a party at his home, and he was also stabbed at another soiree while trying to break up a fracas.

Note to Smith: just stay home.

+Lastly, on a lighter note, Steelers safety Troy Polamalu will be cutting his trademark locks. The man with the million-dollar hair (literally) is getting his first haircut in over ten years. The stunt is a move geared to provide charity for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) organization. It's a nice move for one of the NFL's good guys and he is supporting a worthwhile cause.