ESPN’s Ed Werder reported on SportsCenter Tuesday afternoon that the Cleveland Browns are currently discussing the possibility of shutting down Trent Richardson (ribs) through their Week 10 bye.

Werder termed Richardson’s rib-cartilage injury “serious,” and hinted it was aggravated on a “direct hit” in the second quarter of last week’s loss to Indianapolis, a game where the back amassed a mere eight yards on eight carries. “Following the loss, Richardson stated that while he wanted to be in the game and it pained him to be on the sidelines, the injury was far more serious than most people realized.

“The team (is) now discussing whether to hold him out through the bye week to allow him to heal,” Werder said. “The fear being that if they don’t, he’ll be debilitated by his injury all year long. There’s internal conflict about shutting him down, though, because Pat Shurmur the coach has to win some games here. They’ve only got one victory and Jimmy Haslam the new owner says he wants a stronger finish if he’s going to bring back the coaching staff.”

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