By Breanna Jacobs
After the scandal at Ohio State, quarterback Terrelle Pryor has finally found a new home: the Oakland Raiders. Pryor, who decided to enter the supplemental draft after the resignation of former OSU head coach Jim Tressel, was chosen 18th in the third round, meaning the Raiders will forfeit that pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
“We’re tickled and thrilled that Terrelle went in the third round and to the Raiders. The third round is quite an accomplishment for a young man who had his pro day 48 hours ago and didn’t know he would be in the draft until Thursday morning and wasn’t able to meet with any decision makers,” said Pryor’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus.
Once Pryor’s contract is finalized, he will be able to begin practicing with the team; he will also be able to play in the final two pre-season games. However, Pryor will be suspended for the first five games of the regular season. This is the same punishment he would have received had he decided to stay at Ohio State for his senior year.
Pryor, who was the only player selected in the supplemental draft, joins a Raiders team that has not shown consistency at the position of quarterback. Pryor will join starting QB Jason Campbell, as well as back-up QBs Kyle Boller and Trent Edwards. For Pryor, this will be a good group to join; all three of Oakland’s QBs are entering the final year of their contracts, meaning that Pryor has the chance to prove himself as a contender for the starting job come next season.
And for the Raiders, who appreciate size, speed, and play-making ability, Pryor was a good, if not predictable choice. Oakland has not had a winning season since 2002 (11-5), and certainly by acquiring Pryor, they are hoping to change that unfortunate statistic and be the Superbowl-champion team of the past.
So what are we to think of Pryor’s chances of becoming the type of QB that can make a team a contender … not now obviously, but down the road?? Seems to have great agility, but time and time again we find that these really agile guys never seem to develop into really good NFL QBs … with Michael Vick being an of the few exceptions. Seems to have displayed a strong arm in college, but where does he rate on accuracy and decision-making? These latter two attributes seem to separate the really good ones from the also-rans in the NFL.
Anyway, it seems the Raiders need A LOT more than Pryor developing into a top notch QB for them to be serious contenders again. Heck … didn’t they just get killed by the 49ers last weekend? The 49ers??? Something tells me they’ll be in the “Suck for Luck” sweepstakes by season’s end. Maybe they can trade for new ownership … now that might be the thing to get them on the road to recovery! 🙂
Yeah, the Raiders haven’t been good for so long that even seeing them in the play-offs would be a shock.
I see where they were going with the Pryor pick; I’m sure they’ll try to develop him into a player that can lead the team to victory, but I don’t know how well that will work out.
Like you mentioned, there are quite a few similarities between Michael Vick and Terrelle Pryor. However, I do not think Pryor will achieve the success Vick has since re-entering the league (like you mentioned), and I’ll tell you why: Michael Vick, although showing poor decision making skills in the past, worked hard for the success he has achieved. He wasn’t just handed that starting QB position for the Eagles; he fought the battles he needed to fight.
Pryor obviously has a different work ethic. I essentially viewed it as him “quitting” when he decided to enter the supplemental draft. He didn’t want to finish out his NCAA career because of the 5 game suspension, which he wound up receiving anyways and he never really owned up to the OSU scandal the way Vick owned up to his dog fighting scandal. Had Pryor stayed at Ohio State one more year, I think he could have had the potential to be a first round draft pick.
Although, who knows, maybe he’ll surprise everyone and be a star in the NFL. I guess we’ll find out soon enough…
Over/Under … Terrelle Pryor starts 16 games at QB in his NFL career
Kyle … I’ll take the over, but I suspect his number of career starts at QB will be something less than 40.
I’d also say over 16. And I think he’ll start more than 40.
I hate to say this (because it feels sacrilegious to say good things about anyone from OSU), but I think once he matures as a player, he might not be too bad.
I don’t think he’ll be super successful, but I think he’ll have an okay career.
Let me put it this way: He’ll have a better career than Ryan Leaf, but not as good of a career as Brett Favre. 🙂
How many starts has Vince Young had at QB in the NFL thus far? I think that’s about the right over/under for Pryor.