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NAPA, Calif. -- Where is Trent Richardson?

With nearly the entire Raiders roster stretching on the field at the beginning of Monday's practice, I searched for the former first-round draft pick from Alabama, but he was nowhere to be found among the sea of players. I mean, I shouldn't have been surprised considering Richardson, a running back, currently finds himself on the "Active/Non-Football Illness" list.

In less polite terms, Richardson is overweight, just slightly. Jack Del Rio, the new head coach in Oakland, said so on Sunday.

"Trent is here, he came back very close to the weight, which was a pretty ambitious goal to get to and he's down in the low 220s," Del Rio said on Sunday. "That's what we asked of him, that's where he was as a player at 'Bama."

So, even though Richardson was here for training camp, he wasn't stretching with the team. Still, I kept looking, worried I was simply missing him among all the bodies clustered on the field.

Then, with practice already in full swing, Richardson emerged from the field house. Out of uniform and, instead, sporting a gray t-shirt and black shorts, Richardson underwent a variety of drills with a trainer. Situated roughly 30 to 40 yards away from the edge of the action, Richardson danced around cones at the behest of the trainer.

Richardson worked out with a trainer away from team activities. (CBSSports.com)

Meanwhile, as Richardson's reclamation project continued off to the side and away from the show, an undrafted running back made his mark. Michael Dyer, who played college ball at Auburn and Louisville, might be putting Richardson's roster spot at risk.

Throughout the morning and afternoon, Dyer ripped off multiple big gainers in the contact portion of practice. Dyer's quickness, combined with his patience and vision, turned him into an elusive target, even if his 5-foot-9 frame makes him one of the smaller players in the entire league.

During one sequence, Dyer took a handoff and was immediately hit in the backfield by the backside of an offensive lineman who was manhandled at the onset of the play. Dyer popped off his teammate and quickly bounced to the outside, gaining the edge and salvaging a five-yard run out of the broken play. A little while later, Dyer ripped off a 25-30 yard touchdown after dancing through multiple holes on the left side of the line.

"The offensive scheme, how it works, it just fits me because of how we set things up and how we block, and just being able to do different things out of the backfield," Dyer told me after Monday's practice.

Across the way, Richardson continued his isolated drills.

Dyer doesn't appear to have a shot to upstage the starter, Latavius Murray, but he looked like he belonged on the field, which is bad news for Richardson, who has yet to step foot on the actual practice field at training camp. Make no mistake about it, Dyer -- as of right now -- looks like more of a lock to make the roster than Richardson.

In addition to his rushing ability, Dyer consistently caught passes out of the backfield. After practice, he also spoke confidently about his contributions on special teams, which he knows is key for rookies like himself.

His productive output hasn't gone unnoticed.

"Michael's done a nice job of developing," Del Rio said on Sunday. "From what we saw in the spring until now, he seems more comfortable, accountable and dependable on offense and special teams. Every now and then, he'll pop through a hole and turn on the speed. He's off to a nice start."

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Even Raider nation is having a tough time believing in Richardson. Prior to arriving at camp on Monday, I spoke with multiple Raiders superfans over the phone. By superfans, I mean the Raiders fans that you instantly associate with the Black Hole, the ones who attend nearly if not every home game in full battle gear. The four superfans I spoke to all conveyed their support for Richardson, but that doesn't mean they're optimistic about his chances.

Wayne Mabry, known as "The Violator," was the most optimistic of the bunch, saying that he had just finished sending off an "uplifting" tweet to Richardson, telling him to "keep grinding."

"People are written off, those are the type of underdogs that the Raiders are known for bringing in," Mabry said. "I know he has the talent to do it. For whatever reason it never came into fruition."

Johnny Perea seemed less enthusiastic than Mabry.

"I'm glad he came, but it's going to be difficult to really tell how it's going to be," Perea said. "I hope he steps up to the plate. If he steps up to the plate, we'll believe in him. We will ... But it's up to him."

Pablo Navarro, known as "Toozak," echoed Perea's wait-and-see approach. Except, even Navarro admitted that he doesn't know much about Richardson. Considering Richardson was once one of college football's biggest stars, got drafted No. 3 overall by the Browns, and then was acquired by the Colts in exchange for another first rounder, Richardson's anonymity isn't the best sign.

Finally, Mark Acasio, nicknamed "Gorilla Rilla," said that he expects Richardson's desperation to lead to success.

But not too much success.

"Not a starter," Acasio said of his expectations. "But a good backup."

Wayne Mabry says Raiders history is full of players who emerged after being written off. (USATSI)

Fans at training camp on Monday seemed to be on the same page as Acasio. Juan Reyes, a member of a Fresno-based Raiders booster club called the "Knights of the Shield," said he envisions Richardson as a third-down power back, something he thinks they haven't had since the days of Michael Bush.

But season-ticket holder Israel Carrero believes the third-down job is going to Roy Helu, which would leave Richardson in a spotty situation. For Carrero, the situation is pretty cut and dry.

"At this point, if he can contribute, great," Carrero said. "If not, move on."

As season-ticket holders Victor Gonzalez and Jesus Flores put it, Richardson needs to meet the Raiders' weight expectations because not doing so shows a lack of commitment.

And really, can you blame Raiders fans for being pessimistic when it comes to the running game? As Joey Seimas, another member of the Knights of the Shield, pointed out, the Raiders have experienced a prolonged bout of bad luck with running backs.

"Everybody said Maurice Jones-Drew looked amazing, and he didn't do anything, and then he got injured," Seimas said. "Then the one year (Darren) McFadden is actually healthy the whole year, he has his lowest stats."

It's worth noting that the lack of faith in Richardson among fans can't be simply chalked up to a pessimistic fan base that last tasted the postseason in 2002. The dozen or so fans that I spoke with are all optimistic for the upcoming season. Some even went so far as to agree with Del Rio's recent comments about winning the division. Despite a 12-year playoff drought in Oakland, the fans see second-year quarterback Derek Carr, they see rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper, and they see future sack-machine Khalil Mack -- they see a promising young core for the first time in what probably feels like forever.

Optimism is in the air in Oakland. That feeling, however, doesn't necessarily extend to Richardson.

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There is at least one important figure who still believes in Richardson and that's Del Rio, who thinks that if Richardson gets down to the weight the Raiders want him at, he'll "have a chance to come out here and show what he's capable of." And, earlier this offseason, offensive line coach Mike Tice praised Richardson's weight loss and quickness.

While expecting big numbers from Richardson -- a back who has averaged just 3.3 yards per carry in his career -- is probably unwise, Del Rio and Tice could be onto something. At Alabama, Richardson was listed as 224 pounds. In his final college season, Richardson ran for 1,679 yards, averaged 5.9 yards per carry, and scored on 21 of his runs.

A member of the Colts for the last two seasons, Richardson appeared to have some weight-related complications.

"We had made an agreement where I'd weigh 230 pounds, but it turns out that I was supposed to be 227 pounds and they didn't tell me that," Richardson told ESPN in March.

Richardson's issues extend past his burst. There's also his lack of vision, demonstrated by the two images below.

The tough part about all of this is that Richardson still hasn't seen the field in training camp, which makes it challenging to evaluate where he's at. Who knows? Maybe he'll come out in the best shape of his career and will finally live up to his first-round billing. For the first time in his NFL career, nothing at all is expected out of Richardson. Perhaps that'll cause a positive change in his game.

Regardless, we can only go off of what we know so far. And, so far, it's safe to say that the Trent Richardson reclamation project is currently stuck in idle.

After two failed stints, Richardson is trying to save his career in Oakland. (USATSI)