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Ryan Clark called Trent Richardson the worst RB ever. Well, is he?

Ryan Clark, the longtime NFL safety and current ESPN analyst, made some waves when he called Trent Richardson the worst running back of all time.

He relayed a story of him discussing Richardson with Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin before the 2012 draft, when Clark was worried that the division rival Cleveland Browns were going to take Richardson. Tomlin told Clark not to worry, Clark said on ESPN.

"He said, 'Because he doesn't dish out punishment, deliver punishment, he just absorbs punishment,'" Clark said. "He's like, 'He won't make it in the league.'"

Outrageous opinions are the name of the game on the show Clark was appearing on, so take his "worst of all time" for what it's worth. But with this particular opinion, there's an argument that can be made that Clark is right. And Richardson, who was cut by the Oakland Raiders this week, still has a chance to latch on with another team and improve on what has been a disappointing career. Weirder things have happened.

To figure out the answer of which running back is worst of all time, you have to consider just high-volume running backs who actually hurt their teams through inefficiency I'm sure there is some undrafted free agent running back who played one game before getting cut who is technically the worst, but those type of players don't damage a franchise.

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Richardson, who was the third overall pick to the Browns, doesn't stack up well when considering his place among running backs. His 3.31-yard average is the most damning stat. Of players with at least 500 attempts in their careers, Richardson has the ninth lowest average according to Pro-Football-Reference.com (and he also added 1 yard and a fumble on four playoff carries). Of the eight players worse than Richardson, four finished their careers before 1950. Two, Brett Favre and Warren Moon, were modern quarterbacks. That leaves Lynn Chandnois, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1950-56, and made up for his 3.26-yard average by being a fine kick returner who made two Pro Bowls, and the player who probably does win the crown of worst ever if going by just stats: Michael Haddix.

Haddix, the eighth pick of the 1983 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, somehow lasted eight seasons with the Eagles and Green Bay Packers despite averaging 3.01 yards per carry and having just one season averaging better than 3.2 (that was a still awful 3.5 in 1986). He scored three rushing touchdowns in 120 games, on 543 attempts. He did not score a rushing touchdown in his final six NFL seasons despite more than 400 carries. At least Richardson scored 17 times in three seasons (really, he did). Haddix wasn't the third pick of the draft like Richardson, and he wasn't traded for another first-round pick like the Indianapolis Colts did for Richardson, but he was still a mighty bust. Buddy Ryan once called him out for being overweight, saying he looked like a "reject USFL guard," according to a Philadelphia Daily News story from 1987. Haddix switched positions and was a fullback for plenty of his career, but he still counts on the list.

Leonard Russell probably deserves some mention too, because he ranked dead last in Football Outsiders' defensive-adjusted yards above replacement (DYAR) metric among all running backs from 1991-2012. And he was last by a landslide. The 14th pick of the 1991 draft to the New England Patriots had a total DYAR of minus-416 when nobody else had more than minus-300, and a six-year average of minus-69 when nobody else topped minus-50. 

Trent Richardson (AP)
Trent Richardson (AP)

Another Browns first-round pick, WIlliam Green, is in the conversation as well. After a promising rookie season with 887 yards and six touchdowns, it all went really bad for Green, as he had three touchdowns in his final three seasons and drove the Browns nuts with his off-field issues. He did average 3.7 yards a carry so he probably doesn't win the prize (and thankfully he has turned his life around and became a motivational speaker). 

Others come to mind, too. Ki-Jana Carter was a regrettable No. 1 overall pick, but that was mostly due to injury. Blair Thomas was a No. 2 overall pick and did very little for the New York Jets. Curtis Enis and D.J. Dozier are fellow first-round busts.

Really though, were any of these backs worse than Lawrence Phillips, who is back in the news after being charged with murdering his prison cellmate? Phillips was the sixth pick of the 1996 draft by the St. Louis Rams despite numerous red flags, and was as terrible on the field as he was off it. He lasted less than two full seasons with the Rams (again, the sixth pick of the draft) and averaged 3.4 yards per carry in his career. He is also blamed for not picking up Arizona Cardinals cornerback Aeneas Williams on a blitz, which led to a concussion that ended Steve Young's career. When he refused to participate in a practice drill with the 49ers, he was cut and at age 24, his NFL career was over. Three NFL seasons on three teams, 1,453 yards on 424 carries and that was it.

As bad as Richardson has been, it's hard to say he was worse than that. I'll pick Phillips.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!