The Cleveland Browns signing of Terrelle Pryor was met with little fanfare this offseason. Pryor, the former Oakland Raiders quarterback experiment, had suddenly become a different kind of experiment. After several unsuccessful seasons trying to turn himself into an NFL-caliber signal-caller, Pryor decided he was ready to try and make use of his size and ample athleticism elsewhere on a professional football field, namely at wide receiver. The Browns, dealing with the loss of Josh Gordon, just so happened to be in the market for a high-upside, big-bodied wideout like Pryor and so brought him in to compete. While many expected Pryor to struggle with the transition, early returns have actually been promising and have even prompted Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com to go so far as to suggest that, from her vantage point, Pryor now looks like a "lock" to make the Browns roster.
Considering Gordon's year-long suspension, the failed Miles Austin experiment from last season and the fact that a couple of veteran cast-offs, Brian Hartline and Dwayne Bowe, are currently in line to start, it's got to be music the ears of Browns fans that Pryor has been looking so promising already.
''(Pryor) has really, really good ball skills,'' Browns receivers coach Joke Phillips said earlier this week, via Fox Sports. ''He has really strong hands, he's able to pluck the ball. He's got really natural ball skills. His hand placement is correct the majority of the time.''
Considering his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame and his overall athleticism, it makes sense that the 26-year-old has been impressing coaches with his speed and ball-handling. Even head coach Mike Pettine couldn't help but throw a compliment Pryor's way at the same time as he tried to slow the hype train.
''It's too early to tell, but he does not look out of place,'' Pettine said. ''He does some good things. He's just behind from a learning standpoint in the subtleties of playing receiver, but he's ahead of where we thought he would be.''
With the Browns quarterback depth chart unsettled - Josh McCown is taking the first-team reps, but very much represents the "safe" option for the franchise, while Johnny Manziel is just doing his best to remain relevant - Pryor's potential development could go a long way toward making life easier for both his fellow pass-catching brethren and for Pettine, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and, presumably, McCown, once the regular season rolls around.
Heck, from the sounds of things, Pryor may even get to throw a few passes himself as reports today indicated that the Browns experimented with some gadget packages with Pryor wherein he tossed the ball downfield. Didn't work out so great apparently - Cabot called it a "wobbling duck" - but it's yet another indication that Pryor may not just be a "lock" to make the team, could be in line for some significant playing time.
