Trent Richardson progressing well

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BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns coach Pat Shurmur said Sunday he remains hopeful that prized rookie Trent Richardson, the No. 3 overall pick in April's draft, may play the season opener Sept. 9.

"Trent's getting better every day, so his progress has been outstanding," Shurmur said. "He's about where we thought he'd be, probably a little bit ahead. So he'll be out here soon."

Richardson had what the team termed "routine arthroscopic" surgery by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla., on Aug. 9.

Andrews did a similar procedure on Richardson on Feb. 3 to repair a torn meniscus the running back suffered in the same knee while playing for Alabama during its BCS national championship victory over LSU.

In Richardson's absence, Montario Hardesty gained 45 yards on 12 carries with a 1-yard scoring run in Cleveland's 35-10 preseason win against Green Bay on Thursday night.

The 25-year-old Hardesty is not happy that Richardson is out, but is delighted to show the Browns he has recovered from even more serious surgeries on both knees.

"I came in with a plan and that was to show what I can do," Hardesty said. "Every day is fun. The last two years were no fun at all."

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