QB Terrelle Pryor, Oakland Raiders

HT: 6-6, WT: 233, Born: 6-20-1989, College: Ohio State, Drafted: Round 3

2013 Projections

Outlook

Terrelle Pryor is unlikely to win the starting job out of camp for the Raiders this year, bu tthat's doesn't mean he won't be involved. “I think we still feel positive about giving Terrelle Pryor an opportunity to compete and specifically having a package of things that he can do really well and giving him an opportunity,” Head Coach Dennis Allen said on a conference call earlier this offseason. Whether that package involves read option or Pryor under center is still unknown, but the Raiders will try to get the young athletic quarterback on the field one way or another. The fact that team drafted Tyler Wilson may mean that they don't see Pryor as a long term answer at quarterback, but it doesn't mean they're ready to give up on him as someone that can contribute to the offense in one fashion or another.

Latest News

Raiders | Ugly minicamp performance from QBs (Wed Jun 12, 08:19 PM) - Oakland Raiders QBs Matt Flynn, Tyler Wilson, Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin didn't fare well at their minicamp Tuesday, June 11. Many of their throws were batted down at the line of scrimmage, landed behind and over receivers, and were generally off the mark. No option distinguished himself from the others. Pryor said that since defenders weren't wearing pads, they were more upright, which made it easier to bat down throws.

link to story   

2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 16 - Terrelle Pryor, judging by HC Dennis Allen’s decision to give Leinart the opportunity over him, is not quite trusted enough to be the starting quarterback. Pryor’s lone involvement in the game resulted in one of the more productive plays for the Raiders. Pryor took the snap from under center, then tossed the football over to Carson Palmer on the right sideline. Pryor then accepted the return pass from Palmer and trucked upfield and past a feeble tackle attempt to get first down yardage.

Week 17 - With both teams out of the playoff mix and not a ton of fantasy value to be had in this game, all eyes were on the youngster Pryor to see how he would fare in his first NFL start. As expected, he showed some glimpses of talent but was inconsistent overall. Not surprisingly, he showed terrific mobility both out of and inside the pocket. He didn’t break many big gains with his feet, but he always knew where the first down marker was and did a very good job of knowing when to take off and run, when to throw it away, and when to take a shot downfield. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his game was his elusiveness and ability to avoid sacks. There were several occasions where multiple San Diego defenders appeared to have him pinned in, only to scramble around in the backfield until he could find a receiver downfield or at least get a better angle to throw the ball away. He did much better throwing the ball when he was able to roll outside the pocket, and looked much more smooth and fluid. Too often when he was inside the pocket, he kind of aimed his passes. Pryor appears to have plenty of arm strength, but there were many occasions where he simply floated the ball out to his receivers. It didn’t burn him too badly in this game, but over time those floaters will turn into turnovers. As it was, Pryor only turned it over once. He forced a pass deep downfield to WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, but it was into double coverage in the end zone and the defender easily stepped in front for the pick. He later underthrew another deep ball to Heyward-Bey that could have gone for a long score had it been thrown out in front and towards the sideline. Instead, the receiver had to almost stop and come back to the ball, which disrupted the entire timing and caused it to fall incomplete. There were several instances of this with Pryor, underthrowing receivers on deep balls or misfiring on intermediate routes to cause near-turnovers. That being said, quarterbacks can work on accuracy. Decision-making is something that cannot be taught, and in that area Pryor looked surprisingly solid for a guy making his first career start. He showed a lot of poise under pressure, was very calm on his rushing attempts (particularly the rushing touchdown which featured a great fake handoff and culminated with Oakland’s first rushing score since Week 7), and exhibited the kind of control over the huddle that you hope a quarterback possesses. Even when he made a mistake late in the first half, it was apparent that it was an accident. With Oakland out of timeouts and trying to set up a field goal just before the half, Pryor took off towards the sideline. When at first it seemed like he had dove forward, replays showed he had in fact slipped and was trying to get out of bounds. He also used some veteran savvy to save his team from a turnover. After fumbling during a run, San Diego appeared ready to pounce on the loose football. Rather than risk the turnover, Pryor batted the ball out of bounds. He was whistled for an illegal bat, but that’s better than losing the ball. His football IQ appears high. In fact, at one point when RB Mike Goodson was mixing it up after a play with a San Diego defender, it was the youngster Pryor who got into the middle of the scrum and tried pulling Goodson away. He even appeared to verbally chastise him afterwards for causing a penalty (a good sign that the young QB could quickly take to a leadership role). As for the good passes, he threw two scores. The first was a perfect back shoulder fade to Heyward-Bey in the end zone. The second came on a rollout to his right. He kept waiting for someone to break open, and finally he released it across his body over the middle of the field to WR Denarius Moore. The play was very reminiscent of “the catch”, the famous pass play from Joe Montana to Dwight Clark in the 1981 NFC Championship Game. The only difference is that this one was in the middle of the field instead of the sideline, and it was a meaningless game between two crummy teams instead of the NFC title game.