Richardson dealing with family issue

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Indianapolis Colts running back Trent Richardson missed Saturday's walk-through in Indianapolis and will miss Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots because of a family situation.

"I had to miss walk-through," Richardson told ESPN.com on Sunday. "I'm dealing with a very serious family emergency. I'm still at the hospital. I wouldn't purposely just miss walk-through."

The Colts announced Saturday that Richardson didn't travel with the team to Foxborough for personal reasons.

The announcement came two days after Richardson said he was preparing to be the starter and that he never planned on be on the inactive list again after being placed on the list for the divisional playoff game against the Denver Broncos on Jan. 11.

"I wouldn't just purposely turn my back on the team," Richardson told ESPN.com "I would have been there if I wasn't dealing with this issue."

It's been a tumultuous 16 months since the Colts gave the Cleveland Browns a first-round pick for Richardson in September 2013.

Richardson lost his starting job to Donald Brown late in the 2013 season. He regained it this season but lost it to Daniel "Boom" Herron in Week 16. Richardson was the third running back behind Herron and Zurlon Tipton in the Jan. 4 playoff game against Cincinnati and played one snap against the Bengals.

Richardson has yet to rush for 100 yards in a game and has totaled 977 yards in 29 games with the Colts.