Over a decade ago, Terrelle Pryor was one of the most exciting athletes coming out of the Pittsburgh area. Playing at Ohio State from 2008-10, Pryor was a dynamic, dual-threat quarterback. However, some controversies in college resulted in Pryor leaving school before the 2011 season. This led to him declaring for the NFL’s supplemental draft, not the regular draft. There, teams ask players if they want the opportunity to play for them. It sounds like Pryor could’ve joined the Steelers but chose not to.
“Pittsburgh wanted to draft me,” Pryor said in an article recently written by Levi Edwards of Raiders.com. “Mike Tomlin and their GM at the time, they sat me down and said, ‘Hey, we want to take you in the second round.’ But I just didn’t want to be close to home.”
The supplemental draft is similar to the regular draft, but there are several key differences. It’s an opportunity for players who missed the regular draft to enter the NFL, usually being held late in the summer. For Pryor, whose college career ended suddenly in June 2011, it was a perfect opportunity to continue playing football.
It also gives players a little more control of their destiny. Pryor could’ve played for the Steelers, his hometown team, but it sounds like he wanted a fresh start somewhere else. That makes some sense. As a young man, Pryor might have felt like he wouldn’t have had the best opportunity to grow up in Pittsburgh. He did make sure to show out against the Steelers eventually, though.
Pryor would go on to be selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the supplemental draft. This resulted in them forfeiting their third-round pick in the following year’s draft. However, Pryor revealed the Steelers were willing to take him in the second round, which means they would’ve landed him if he was willing to go to Pittsburgh.
Of course, that also would’ve cost them their second-round pick in the 2012 draft. The Steelers ended up taking offensive tackle Mike Adams, a former teammate of Pryor’s, with that pick. He didn’t have a very long career, so the Steelers might have been better off with Pryor.
Pryor’s journey would’ve likely been vastly different with the Steelers. He ended up only sticking at quarterback in the NFL for three seasons. He managed to transition to receiver, though, posting a 1,000-yard season in 2016.
In 2011, Ben Roethlisberger was coming off his third Super Bowl appearance with the Steelers. Although he had some off-field issues, his play on the field only looked to be improving. Could the Steelers have groomed Pryor to be Roethlisberger’s successor, moving on from him much earlier than they actually did? Or would they have moved Pryor to receiver to start his career?
It’s fascinating to ponder. Pryor might not have cut it as an NFL quarterback, but he was a phenomenal athlete. Maybe his career would’ve been different with the Steelers. However, he felt like it was best for him not to be close to home after growing up about 20 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Perhaps Pittsburgh wouldn’t have been the best destination for him. He ended up having a fine career, despite the interesting path he took to get there.
