The Cleveland Browns bring back Terrelle Pryor into the NFL by keeping him on their 53-man roster for the new season despite having a less than stellar preseason and training camp with the team.
Pryor played in just one half of a preseason game for the Browns, as his switch to wide receiver turns out to be have been the winning number in his attempt to make it back into the NFL. He didn’t have a single pass thrown at him in the game, but did get to line up at quarterback a couple of times and run the read option, rushing once and handing the ball over once.
So why did the Browns keep him? Because it’s hard for a defense to prepare for him, according to head coach Mike Pettine: Anytime you can have a guy that can run, that can throw, that can protect, I just think it changes the mindset defensively a little bit.
Pryor didn’t get too many chances to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. His longest run lasted less than a season for the Oakland Raiders, where he impressed with his running abilities and little else, losing the starting job due to a concussion, which was helped by playing behind an awful offensive line.
Pryor, unlike Tim Tebow, wants to remain in the NFL at any cost, which means he doesn’t mind switching positions, or simply willing to swallow his pride. It has worked out for him in this case, although it won’t be surprising to see him lining up behind center from time to time and the Browns taking advantage of his unique skill set.