CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Trent Richardson hasn't forgotten about Sept. 18, 2013.

It seemed like an ordinary Wednesday. The Browns finished practice, he iced up and headed home.

Then he was traded to the Indianapolis Colts.

"I was shocked," Richardson said Wednesday on a conference call with Cleveland reporters. "I had no clue at all. I had no type of heads up."

Richardson will return to FirstEnergy Stadium for the first time as a member of the opposition on Sunday. He'll do so with vengeance in mind against the franchise that selected him with the third pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

"They gave up on me," Richardson said. "I'm going to go into this game like it's my last one."

Richardson thanked the Browns for taking a chance on him. He also appreciated the opportunity to relocate to a team that reached the postseason last year. That said, he never anticipated he would be jettisoned one state to the west after a year and a half.

"I thought this would be the only team I played for," Richardson said.

Former Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski joined the Colts this year as a special assistant. He told Richardson that he, too, was surprised by the trade.

"He was just as lost as I was," Richardson said. "He didn't understand it at all."

The deal has worked out in the Browns' favor. Cleveland acquired an extra first-round draft choice for the running back. Meanwhile, Richardson's struggles in the backfield are well-documented.

Richardson totaled 950 yards and 11 touchdowns with the Browns during his rookie campaign, but he mustered only 2.9 yards per carry in 14 contests with the Colts last year following the trade. This season, he has 445 yards (3.3 yards per carry) and three touchdowns and has lost touches in recent weeks to former Ohio State running back Dan Herron.

"Some days are going to be tougher than others, but he's going to continue to work hard and stick to the process," said head coach Chuck Pagano. "When his number is called, he's going to show up and do the very best he can."

Richardson cited a nagging hamstring injury and an illness -- he said "it gets really cold up this way, just like it does in Cleveland" -- as reasons for his underwhelming performance. He also claimed to have a lack of running holes, though Herron has racked up 153 yards on 20 carries over the last two weeks.

"People talk down about me," Richardson said, "but I just laugh at them and say, 'God bless you.'"

Richardson has totaled 54 yards on 27 carries over his last three games. He rushed six times for zero yards against New England on Nov. 16. He totaled eight carries and 12 yards last Sunday against Washington.

Yet, he remains upbeat.

"A lot of people are saying, 'He's a mistake. He's this. He's that,'" Richardson said. "Well, watch these next four weeks, because it ain't like I've been playing bad football."

The Browns will witness first-hand whether Richardson is living in a land of delusion or if he truly will turn it around. And he can't wait for the chance.

"It's big. There's going to be a lot of emotion," he said. "It's going to be hard trying to stay mentally into it."