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Running back Trent Richardson carries the ball during an Oakland Raiders offseason practice.

(Courtesy of the Oakland Raiders)

Running back Trent Richardson has lost weight since joining the Oakland Raiders, the NFL team's offensive line coach, Mike Tice, told SiriusXM NFL Radio.

Richardson's weight was a point of contention with his previous team, the Indianapolis Colts. Last season, the former Alabama All-American was fined 14 times by the Colts for weighing in at more than 227 pounds.

Indianapolis waived Richardson in March, and he quickly signed with the Raiders, hoping to find, if not his form at Alabama, then at least that of his rookie NFL season.

After setting Alabama single-season records with 1,679 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns for the Crimson Tide's 2011 BCS national championship team, Richardson went to the Cleveland Browns with the third pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.

In his first pro campaign, Richardson ground out 950 yards and 11 touchdowns and caught 51 passes for the Browns. Two games into Richardson's second season, Cleveland traded the running back to Indianapolis for a first-round draft pick. In 29 games for the Colts, Richardson ran for 977 yards and six touchdowns - averaging 3.1 yards per carry -- and caught 55 passes. In three playoff games, he carried the ball four times for 1 yard and ended his tenure in Indianapolis suspended by the team for the AFC Championship Game.

Richardson was brought in to compete with Latavius Murray. The Raiders let Darren McFadden, their leading rusher last season, leave as a free agent after Murray ran for 413 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, in Oakland's final six games last season.

Oakland also signed running back Roy Helu as a free agent in the offseason, but he's viewed as more of a pass-receiving specialist after catching 42 passes for 477 yards and two touchdowns for the Washington Redskins last season.

"Each one has their own style," Tice said of the three running backs. "I like the Murray kid. He really came on in that last veteran minicamp. He got his legs under him. He showed some quickness, some good finish. I though the young man from Alabama came on. He lost some weight and his quickness came around. And then the young man we picked up out of Washington -- a local boy out of San Ramon -- I think he had an outstanding offseason. He showed good quickness, good awareness. I think where they all need improvement ... is in their pass protection. That'll come when we get the pads on. You get those one-on-ones against the linebackers."

It sounds as though the job as the Raiders' top back will be Murray's to lose in training camp.

"Right now, he's been running with the lead group," Oakland coach Jack Del Rio said, "but he knows that he has to earn that through camp, through the preseason. But he's done a nice job this offseason. He is taking steps and growing as a young player."

Murray would like to get the opportunity to pick up where he left off last season.

"It's a great feeling, but every day I have to go in there knowing I need to get better every day," Murray said. "I need to play like it's a new year. Last season is just last season, and the year before that, it was the year before that. Every season is a new year for me, and it's a year I have to go out and prove something."

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LaDainian Tomlinson, a three-time All-Pro running back during his career, told KGMZ 95.7 The Game in San Francisco that Richardson might have to accept being a backup for the Raiders, but he still could be a contributor in that role.

"I've had the opportunity to talk to Trent," Tomlinson said. "He calls me from time to time, and I know he's a passionate young man. He really wants to be a really good football player. He tries hard. He wants to do the things that it takes to be a really good football player. Situations that have happened over the years have really caused him not to perform at the level he wants to perform at, but with the right idea in mind -- meaning knowing his role, knowing what he brings to a team -- he could be a great change-of-pace guy. He can be the guy that comes in, gives them carries, but really be a physical mindset. That's what he should be thinking about, because it's going to be Latavius Murray's show. I'm just saying. The kid can play. But you do need another running back to spell him at times and really to help keep the chains moving. If Trent Richardson gets his mind right that that can be him, then I believe he can have a nice role with that offense."