Oakland Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor suffered a concussion late in Monday night’s 37-21 loss to the Denver Broncos. The third-year quarterback chosen in the supplemental draft in 2011 was diagnosed by team doctors after the game, casting doubt over his future playing status.
Sorry about the loss RaiderNation. I don’t remember much ! Good hit by whoever it was. I heard our team fought well .. We will be back!
— Terrelle Pryor (@TerrellePryor) September 24, 2013
Pryor took a vicious hit from middle linebacker Wesley Woodward on a designed run inside the tackles near the end zone. He finished the drive, which ended with a turnover on downs at the Denver 1-yard line, but did not return. But in other terms Raider Nation among others say it was a vicious helmet to helmet hit that wasn’t clearly reviewed and this may have changed the outcome of the game.
Backup quarterback Matt Flynn finished the game, which was already out of hand.
This week Pryor must pass a series of concussion-related tests mandated by the NFL before he’s allowed to play or practice. Heading into Sunday’s home game versus Washington Redskins, his playing status will be in serious jeopardy this coming week.
“We’ll see,” Raiders coach Dennis Allen said. “We will go in tomorrow and have an evaluation. We’ll get a better feel for where we’re at and go from there.”
Pryor was not able to speak to reporters after the game, per NFL policy, concussed players are barred from talking to the press. Losing Pryor for an extended period would only hurt the Raiders because he gives the teams a legitimate chance to win.
“It’ll be a big blow,” Raiders free safety Charles Woodson said. “It’s a guy who is getting his chance, and each week he’s getting more comfortable. Terrelle did some good things, so it’ll be a tough blow for him and his development if he’s unable to shake it off and bounce back. We’ll see how that pans out.”
Pryor finished with a career-high 281 passing yards and had a touchdown with no interceptions against Denver and rushed for () as the game wore he looked more and more stronger. The loss of him would be detrimental to the Raiders. The injury he assessed negated much of the progress made against Denver, especially as a pocket passer.
The true precautions of the hit Pryor took was concussed on a legal hit. While there was moderate helmet-to-helmet contact, Pryor didn’t get speared and he certainly wasn’t defenseless therefore no flag no fine will be assessed.
The rule is a quarterback is treated like any other ball carrier between the tackles, where he was running at the point of impact.
Also cornerback Tracy Porter suffered a concussion in Monday Night’s game actually on the last play of the third quarter. This occurred as he battled to bring Demaryius Thomas to ground after a 4-yard completion, Raiders defensive end Lamarr Houston‘s accidentally knee made contact with the back of Porter’s helmet.
His absents will make Oakland secondary a lot weaker. If he is forced to sit out this week Porter’s his replacements would force corner Mike Jenkins into the slot, leaving young players D.J. Hayden and Phillip Adams on the outside.
Reflecting back on the Pryor hit Raiders head coach Allen said “I couldn’t tell, and even if it was within the rules, it’s inside the tackle box,” Allen said. “But it was a pretty good hit.”
Pryor’s back-up Matt Flynn who lost the starting role this off-season stepped in and led the Raiders to a touchdown after Mike Jenkins recovered a fumble.
“I’m always going to be ready and I’m always going to prepare,” Flynn said. “That’s part of the job. You always have to be ready to go in. Obviously the game didn’t go as we wanted. We just need to play better from start to finish.”
The eyes of the Raiders look toward future success and suffering a loss like this can only give the team promise and build character for the long season head. Pryor is ready to go lets see how the Raiders handle it.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
