The question was raised when the Oakland Raiders first brought in Terrelle Pryor. Now it’s resurfaced in the wake of the Carson Palmer acquisition and for good reason: Pryor is now one step even further away from playing quarterback in the NFL and the Raiders paid a steep bounty to keep it that way.
With the draft pick value given to Cincinnati for Palmer’s services, there’s no way Pryor is sniffing a starting NFL spot for the next couple of years at least. At least, he won’t in Oakland. Yet his athleticism and talent is simply too good to keep off of the field, and the conjecture when he was drafted was that his size and speed might make him ideal at wide receiver or tight end. Given the Raiders new depth chart at QB, that’s exactly what could happen.
Tim Kavanagh makes the case at ESPN for just that. He writes, “At every turn following the Raiders’ acquisition of the Ohio State product in the supplemental draft, both Pryor and representatives of the team have steadfastly indicated that he would remain at QB. But that was before Palmer was in the picture. Even if Pryor does not completely switch over to a position where he’ll be a pass-catcher instead of a pass-thrower, it would not be surprising to see Hue Jackson attempt to make use of him at times in such a role. Things just got a whole lot more exciting in Oakland.”
He could also be used in trick plays every now and then a la Brad Smith, although Pryor’s athleticism makes him much more dangerous than Smith. Pryor’s a legitimate talent without a pro level position, but Hue Jackson is creative enough to make something work. Here’s a bet that you’ll see Pryor creating some value for himself on the roster before season’s end.