INDIANAPOLIS – Darrius Heyward-Bey thought his eyes had to be deceiving him.
Was Trent Richardson really joining him in the Colts locker room?
"I got home from work about 6:00 and I had to rewind the DVR to read it one more time just to make sure that I saw what I saw," DHB said of the Richardson news.
"Ryan Grigson is a great GM. He knows what he wants and he goes out there and makes it happen."
Grigson's 16th trade in just a year-and-a-half sent shock waves around the NFL and into the Colts locker room.
On Wednesday afternoon the Colts hit the practice field with just 51 players on their active roster and were in the midst of learning that a third offensive starter was lost for the season.
Little did the Colts know that Grigson was a few hours away from pulling off a deal that would have his players in a state of disbelief upon hearing the news.
"I was ecstatic," cornerback Greg Toler said of the Richardson acquisition. "We've been going through a lot of injuries and this just shows that we want to win. We have faith in this team and bringing Trent on just helps us in so many ways."
Toler heard about the trade while at the house of nose tackle Josh Chapman.Richardson and Chapman won a pair of National Titles together at Alabama and are now reunited in Indianapolis.
When Chapman heard that Head Coach Chuck Pagano described Richardson as "a rolling ball of butcher knives", the second-year nose tackle couldn't help but smile.
"That's the best way to put it. He's one of those guys you don't want to tackle," Chapman says of his college teammate.
For a 15-year veteran like Matt Hasselbeck, the window to win is significantly shorter than his younger teammates.
Hasselbeck joined the Colts this season in an effort to capture that elusive Super Bowl title and this move is exactly what attracted him to Indianapolis.
"It just fits along with the mentality here that we are always trying to get better," Hasselbeck said on Wednesday.
"It feels like we aren't afraid to make roster moves, try different things. It seems like a very active scouting department. They are actively watching practice. They are aware of things going on around the league and confident in the opportunities to make moves. It's the culture here and I appreciate it. It's kind of neat."
This offseason Hasselbeck and Ricky Jean Francois were among a group free agent signings that joined forces with the Colts.
It's all apart of the "Build The Monster" mantra that has been in place since early 2012.
The trade for Richardson is one of the strongest indicators that even though the Colts have recently had a rash of injuries, the end goal is still the same.
"We want to win now and we want to win later," Jean Francois says of the trade.
"It should show the whole NFL that we are serious about winning, short-term and long-term."
