Aug 6, 2016 5 min read

LATROBE – Opportunities come in all forms and fashions, but they also can be fleeting.

Running back Daryl Richardson knows that all too well.

A seventh-round draft pick of the Rams in 2012 out of Abilene Christan, the speedy Richardson quickly became the primary backup and possible heir apparent to star Steven Jackson.

Just as quickly, the Rams soured on Richardson after he was limited by a turf toe injury in his second season and he’s bounced around the league with three different teams in the past two years, trying to find a home.

That just might be with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who signed Richardson in January after he was released by Cleveland from its practice squad last December.

The 26-year-old Richardson knows the clock is ticking on his time in the NFL, but he’s trying to make the most of his chance with the Steelers, who are the fourth team he’s been with since 2014.

“I knew I would come back,” Richardson said Saturday at the Steelers’ training camp at Saint Vincent College. “In this game, you’ve got to be relentless and resilient. You’ve got to be able to bounce back. It’s a physical game. It’s not always going to go your way. You’ve got to be ready to overcome the obstacles and play.”

The Steelers felt they might be getting a steal in Richardson. In his two seasons with the Rams, he gained 690 yards on 167 carries – a 4.1-yard average – and caught 38 passes for another 284 yards.

He looked fast in the offseason workouts, but offensive coordinator Todd Haley wanted to see how the 5-11, 196-pound Richardson held up in live tackling. He hasn’t been disappointed.

“I liked the kid coming out because I was in Dallas and knew his agent, so I always paid attention to him,” said Haley. “I liked what I had seen in him. I was waiting for pads and once the pads went on the first day in blitz pickup, he was one of the standout guys. He keeps making plays.”

Richardson has not only done well in blitz pickup, he’s broken off some long runs in live tackling drills. He looks shifty and fast and also has shown an ability to lower his shoulder, despite his size, and gain extra yards.

“You’ve got to, especially in this kind of offense,” Richardson admitted. “The way the running scheme is and the game plan, you’ve got to put your nose in there.”

But the younger brother of former Cincinnati Bengals running back Bernard Scott knows if he’s going to stick on the roster, it won’t be solely based on what he does as a runner.

He knows he’s going to have to cover kicks and punts and possibly show he can be effective as a return man. The Steelers are giving him the opportunities to do so.

“Everything,” he said when asked what special teams units he’s being used on. “It’s got to be.”

It’s something he had to learn after his release by the Rams. He spent the entire 2014 season on the Jets’ practice squad then signed with Houston in 2015. Cleveland then signed him and he was on the Browns’ active roster for a few weeks at the end of the season, though he was inactive.

He’s learned while talking to his older brother, who played for the Bengals and Ravens from 2009 through 2013, that he couldn’t just be a running back. He had to have some other abilities if he wanted to stick on a roster.

“That’s something I had to learn,” Richardson said. “Coming in, I never did special teams. After the Rams, special teams has been the key.”

It will be with the Steelers, as well.

The Steelers know Le’Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams will be their top two running backs – though Bell is facing a possible suspension to open the season for missing a drug test. And Roosevelt Nix is settled in at fullback.

But Richardson has more experience than No. 3 running back Fitzgerald Toussaint or any of the other running backs on the roster.

And the Steelers don’t care if things didn’t work out with other teams, they’ll keep their best 53 players.

“That’s why I think (head coach Mike Tomlin) does it as good as anybody. We really don’t care by what means people get here,” Haley said. “There’s a number of guys who have gotten here in similar fashion that wind up making it and having a nice role for us.”

Richardson would like to be the next.

It’s the reason why he never quit, even after being released four times.

“I never got to that point,” he said. “One thing about me, I’m always optimistic about everything. I’ve never pouted. I’m always happy with a smile on my face. It could always be worse. I don’t take anything for granted and I come to play every day.”

Linebacker James Harrison was given the day off Saturday. … Ben Roethlisberger was a full participant in practice Saturday. The quarterback was given the day off Friday. … The Steelers will practice at 2:55 p.m. today. The practice is open to the public.