Browns wide receiver/utility man Terrelle Pryor has finally found NFL success after spending most of the last several seasons looking for a home -- and a position.
Though he’s listed as a starter at wide receiver and is clearly more comfortable in that role than he was a year ago, Pryor is showing off his rare athleticism while making cameo appearances as a running quarterback as well. Last weekend, Pryor became the first player to have at least 120 receiving yards, at least 20 passing yards and and at least 20 rushing yards in a game since Hall of Famer Frank Gifford did it in 1959.
Not bad for a guy who spent much of 2014 and 2015 trying to get a job.
“Everybody would [take me now]. Everybody,” he told Cleveland Scene this week. “Now, after what happened last year, when I play those teams, I’m trying to make everyone pay. I want to make them look bad, because they made bad decisions, period.
“I should have been on somebody’s team, period. I got a big chip on my shoulder. I want to embarrass them, these teams, these corners, these guys I’m battling against. It’s all I want to do, to win, compete, battle my butt off, make these teams look bad. I put it in my head. I got a lot of work to do.”
Pryor spent much of last September and October on the workout circuit. Among the teams that tried him out but didn’t sign him are the Giants, Patriots, Jets and Seahawks. He was cut by the Chiefs and Bengals -- as a quarterback, his original position -- in 2015 before the Browns claimed him on waivers in June 2015 and Pryor decided to dedicate himself to becoming a wide receiver. He was cut by the Browns last September but brought back towards the end of last season.
Thus far, that looks like one of the best personnel decisions the Browns have made in years.
"[Teams] were cutting me for bums at quarterback, guys with no reason to be on the team over me,” Pryor said of his position switch. “At the end of the day I know what it is. It’s a lot of politics. So I knew I was playing the politics game and it wasn’t working out in my favor, so I might as well try to do something different.”