May 26, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Terrelle Pryor (3) during OTAs at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Less than a week since being claimed off waivers from his fourth team, Terrelle Pryor is ready to start his transition to the wide receiver position.
Sort of.
Pryor, who has failed as a quarterback in previous stops in Oakland, Seattle, Kansas City and Cincinnati, joined the Cleveland Browns late last week with the team specifically saying they were brining Pryor on board strictly as a wide receiver.
But Pryor seems to have other ideas now that he is back on a team’s roster.
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“I’m going to give this slash-player deal a chance,” Pryor told Trib Total Media. “I just want to play football. I’m a playmaker, and I believe if I can touch the ball, I can go to the house, especially if I have space. This should definitely open up some opportunities.”
If Pryor really wants to be a wide receiver, then he needs to focus on just that – being a wide receiver – and stop worrying about being a “slash-player,” especially since that went out of vogue in the NFL a few years ago.
To his credit, Pryor is planning to spend his time before the start of training camp working with former All Pro receiver Randy Moss and current Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown in an attempt to build on the foundation he has from playing quarterback.
“The thing that helps me is that I played quarterback, and I know what the quarterback wants,” Pryor said.
“What I’ve got to work on is the specifics, cutting in and out of the breaks. Athletically, I believe I can do anything on the field. When I get on the field, I may not be the best, but I always feel like I am. I bring that mindset. I work my hardest to be the best I can at that position.”
Pryor may also have some interesting conversations with Moss about what life will be like with current Cleveland quarterback Josh McCown.
Moss worked earlier this year with Mike Evans, a teammate of McCown’s last season in Tampa Bay. Despite catching 12 touchdowns and surpassing 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie, Evans was less than complimentary when talking about the state of the Buccaneers’ quarterback play in the red zone.
“The quarterback would just look me off, and then I’d be dead,” Evans told USA Today. “And I didn’t understand, because I always think I’m open. Just throw that thing up.”
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Evans didn’t single out McCown in his comments, and he was only talking about Tampa’s red zone offense over the season’s final six games, but McCown was the quarterback during that time frame, so … you know.
In any event, Pryor needs to focus on himself if he even wants to have a chance to be ignored in the red zone by McCown once training camp starts.
It’s a nice fantasy to think the Pryor can somehow turn himself into the type of player that, according to his high school coach, Ray Reitz, is one who “if you try to press him, he’s going to rock you or run by you. Plus, he has that leaping ability and really good hands. If you make one mistake, he’s scoring.”
The reality, however, is that Pryor will be going up against NFL cornerbacks each day in practice, players who have spent their entire careers, not just five weeks one summer, working on their craft.
So this is one fantasy that is not going to come true.
What do you think of the current situation at wide receiver for the Browns?
Next: Cleveland Browns 2015 Position Preview - Wide Receivers