Terrelle Pryor appears to be playing on borrowed time. The Oakland Raiders quarterback began the season as the starter, winning the job over the likes of Matt Flynn and drafted rookie, Tyler Wilson. Things started off well as Pryor looked every bit the possible franchise player, but a knee injury derailed those plans. Now that Matt McGloin has proved himself worthy, has the team soured on Pryor for the future?
Pryor has been dealing with the aftermath of a knee sprain that he suffered at the start of November. The quarterback lied about the injury and the result was a 24-20 loss to the New York Giants where Pryor completed just 42.3 percent of his passes. If Pryor could do it over again, he would still take the field, but now that decision could seriously hurt his future. Now adjusting to life as a backup, Pryor is unsure if he will ever get another chance to star.
"I'm not really sure, you know?" Pryor said, via San Mercury News. "I'll just try to get better and I'll try to make the best of my situation every day in practice and keep learning. Like I told you guys before -- what I need is experience. That's what I need. I need experience and obviously, I need to get better at things and we all do. But that's the main thing. I know what I need to get better at and you know, I had a fun time playing eight games, or whatever I did, and we did some good things and (I will) just try to build off that."
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Raiders are ready to move on from Pryor. McGloin has taken ownership of the top of the depth chart Head coach Dennis Allen has had nothing but praise for the rookie. Despite the lack of wins coming by way of Oakland, McGloin has shown serious signs of potential, all while Pryor sits on the bench. The quarterback is not concerned about his status, only improving on what he can control.
"Right now Matt's the quarterback," Pryor said. "The only thing I can do is control what I can control and just keep getting better. That's where we're at. It's just push forward and find ways to get better. You could always put your head down and cry and whine about it and talk behind everyone's back, but there's another way."
The Raiders are a lock to draft a quarterback. They likely will not jump on one in the first round, but expect the team to pick someone up around the third or fourth round. Surrounding McGloin with a better offensive line could be the best move going forward while having another strong rookie learning underneath him. The 2014 class is stocked with talent at the position. At this point, signs point towards a rookie taking Pryor's roster spot.
