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People keep asking me if the Eagles should attempt to sign Terrelle Pryor as a possible long-term solution to their big-threat wide receiver treasure hunt.
Pryor is intriguing in terms of talent, football IQ and recently-proven receiving ability, of course. At roughly $10 million a year (counting signing bonus) his contract would not be cheap. His production is freshly documented, however. He’s big (6-4, 223) and fast (4.38 ’40) and has superb hands. You may remember he played a dual-threat quarterback at Ohio State then was drafted in 2011 by the Oakland Raiders as a supplemental pick after being suspended by OSU due to a memorabilia-selling scandal.
The Raiders stockpiled Pryor as a backup QB and he sat for most of the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Following Palmer’s trade to the Arizona Cardinals, Pryor was expected to compete with newly acquired quarterbacks Matt Flynn and Tyler Wilson for the Raiders’ starting job in 2013. He won the starting job and had an up-and-down ride until he was knocked out in Week 9 against the Giants with a sprained MCL.
Pryor was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a seventh round pick in 2014 but was released during the final roster cuts on August 29. He then tried out for the Philadelphia Eagles and four other teams but received no contract offers.
In 2015 he tried out for one-year-deals with the Bengals and the Chiefs but was released by both. It was then Pryor announced through his agent that he was open to switching his position to wide receiver. On June 22, 2015, Pryor was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns. He played in the last game of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers as a wide receiver, recording one reception for 42 yards.
At the start of the 2016 NFL season, Pryor was named a starter at wide receiver for the Browns. With Browns quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown inactive during a Week 3 contest against the Miami Dolphins, Pryor started as a receiver and took a few snaps at quarterback behind rookie Cody Kessler. He also had one play at safety at the end of the second half. Along with his 144 receiving yards, Pryor finished the loss with three completions for 35 yards, 21 rushing yards and scored his first rushing touchdown as a Brown.
On October 2, 2016, Pryor caught his first career touchdown on a nine-yard pass from Kessler. He finished the loss to the Redskins with five receptions for 46 receiving yards and one touchdown. During Week 6 against the Tennessee Titans, he would finish the game with a total of nine receptions for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
Pryor finished the 2016 season with a total of 77 receptions for 1,007 yards and 4 TD’s, averaging over 13 yards per reception with his longest being 54 yards.
So now as a free agent with a new lease on NFL life as a wide receiver, and entering the prime of his athletic life at age 27, why would the Eagles hesitate to make Pryor an offer?
Well, there’s this nagging issue of Terrelle’s allegedly being not well-liked by his teammates.
I know, sounds petty and gossipy, right? But there is enough noise about it around the league to make me think the Eagles would want to have a long sit-down meeting with Pryor about it before thinking about making a next move.
I mean, it’s pretty bad when Adam “Pac Man” Jones” calls you a “garbage can”.
I wouldn’t be concerned about opponents trash-talking Pryor, particularly the defensive backs he beat badly in 2016. But you have to do a double-take when your own teammates seem to be against you.
Pryor has one teammate in Andy Hawkins who thinks he knows why Terrelle has been scorned—it probably boils down to jealousy:
“Terrelle has done something that’s supposed to be impossible—converting from a QB to a successful wide receiver—and that rubs a lot of defensive backs the wrong way, especially his own teammates who now were getting beat by him in practice. Terrelle came in last year as a QB convert – he was going to wide receiver and I still remember the first practice. I’m like, this kid is terrible,” Hawkins said. “There’s no way this is going to work. You know how hard it is. This is not going to happen. He’s 26, 27 years old, he’s not going to do it.”
Hey, if that’s what all the noise is about, then by all means the Eagles should give Pryor a look. Chances are likely he will re-sign with the Browns, I reckon… but if it’s about more than just the money, why not imagine him in an Eagles uniform? He’s all grown up now and the best is yet to come according to the folks who know him best.
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