Steven Richardson (Canadian football)

Steven Richardson (born February 28, 1996) is a former American gridiron football defensive tackle. He played college football at Minnesota, and originally signed with the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He has also played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

College career
Richardson played in 48 games for the University of Minnesota from 2014–17 and recorded 103 defensive tackles, 12.5 sacks, a pair of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Led all Golden Gopher defenders with 11 tackles for a loss and seven sacks in 2016 while earning an All-Big Ten Honourable Mention.

Los Angeles Chargers
Richardson spent time on the practice roster of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2018.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Richardson signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL), reuniting with University of Minnesota teammates Chris Streveler and Drew Wolitarsky. Richardson won the 107th Grey Cup in his rookie year, in a game which saw the Bombers defensive line apply constant pressure to Dane Evans and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as Winnipeg soared to a 33-12 victory. At 5 ft and weighing 298 lbs, Richardson was noted for his low centre of gravity, ability to stop the run, and played a key part getting stops in short yardage situations for the Blue Bombers. Following the cancelled 2020 season Richardson signed a one-year contract extension with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on February 5, 2021. Richardson won the Grey Cup again in 2021.

BC Lions
Following the 2021 season, Richardson became a free agent in February 2022 and signed a contract with the BC Lions on February 8, 2022. On April 20, 2022 the BC Lions announced that Richardson suffered a significant injury which would cause him to miss a large amount of time. The injury was later revealed to be an Achilles injury and there was hope he would be able to return for the end of the 2022 season. However, on October 13, 2022, it was announced that Richardson suffered a setback in his recovery and would not play for the Lions in 2022. In late March 2023, the Lions' co-general manager Neil McEvoy revealed that he did not expect Richardson to play for the Lions in the 2023 season. At that time, there was speculation that his playing career could be over. On May 13, 2023, he was released by the Lions.

After spending a year out of football, Richardson re-signed with the Lions on November 22, 2023.

On May 2, 2024, Richardson was moved to the retired list by the Lions, signaling the end of his professional football career.