I think it would be fair to say that Terrelle Pryor’s NFL career has not exactly gone as he might have envisioned it back in his Ohio State days. Of course, much of that was due to his stubborn refusal to accept the unlikelihood of his being able to compete at the NFL level at his position of choice, quarterback.
But it looked as though he might have finally found his calling in 2016 with the Cleveland Browns in his first full season of participation after making the decision to commit to the wide receiver position. Even working with the likes of Robert Griffin III, Josh McCown, and Cody Kessler, Pryor caught 77 passes for 1007 yards and four touchdowns.
It was enough to earn him a decent amount of attention as he hit unrestricted free agency just a year later. Reportedly, the Browns attempted to keep him, offering him a four-year, $32.5 million contract that he turned down, believing that he could earn more.
According to Mary Cay Kabot, Cleveland quickly turned around and offered that deal to Kenny Britt, who accepted the deal, and that proved to be a horrible pairing that saw the Browns cut him before the season was over.
As for Pryor, he went on to sign a one-year, $8 million contract with Washington, where he played with Kirk Cousins, but suffered an ankle injury in the second game of the year that ultimately landed him on injured reserve in November. In all, he caught just 20 passes for 240 yards and one touchdown in nine games.
Now that he is set to hit the open market again, Cabot says that the Browns will indeed be interested in working with him again, responding to a question on the topic recently. “I do believe the Browns will pursue Pryor, and I think he would want to come back to Cleveland. I don’t think he ever he really wanted to leave in the first place”, she wrote, but the Browns moved on when he didn’t take their initial offer.
Should the Browns indeed pursue and acquire Pryor again, it’s a legitimate possibility that he ends up continuing to work with Cousins, who is likely to hit free agency for the first time in his career after Washington agreed (in principle, it has to be noted) to a trade and new deal for Alex Smith.
Pryor played against the Pittsburgh Steelers as a starter twice in 2016. In the first game, he caught five passes for 97 yards. In the second, he caught seven passes for 94 yards. If back in Cleveland, he would likely face his former teammate as well, Joe Haden.
