What’s next for Terrelle Pryor?

It’s been clear since Matt Schaub was brought on board that the Raiders would be quickly putting an end to the Terrelle Pryor era. According to Pro Football Talk, the Raiders are hoping to be able to trade Pryor before the start of the offseason program that begins next Tuesday. That’s a short timeframe to move a player, especially during the offseason.

It’s possible that the Raiders intend to release Pryor if they can’t trade him for a draft pick, but that shouldn’t necessarily mean a release is coming down the pike in such a short timeframe. There’s no harm in keeping him for the foreseeable future should a trade partner not surface.

Pryor does possess a unique skillset that may allow Oakland to get some sort of value out of a trade. The NFL has become a league of young, athletic quarterbacks. Teams that currently employ those athletic quarterbacks may be in the market for a competent backup that can carry out their athletically tailored offenses.

The problem, of course, becomes price. Pryor has proven little in his career outside the fact that he’s great with his feat. Teams know, however, that they’ll likely get a shot at him on the open market if they don’t offer anything in a trade. Because of that, Oakland may want to hang onto him for the foreseeable future.

If Pro Football Talk’s report is accurate, that won’t be the route the Raiders will take. The more likely outcome is a release sometime next week after it becomes apparent no team is willing to trade a draft pick for a backup quarterback that may or may not be able to win games as a backup quarterback.

Because the price tag for Pryor is likely so low, it probably only takes one team making an offer for the quarterback to complete a trade. Any value is better than no value, even if the difference is marginal at best. Teams like the Bills, Jaguars, Titans or other quarterback needy teams may see an opportunity to hit a homerun with almost no cost at all.

Pryor’s time with the Raiders appears to be coming to an end, but we probably haven’t seen the last of him. He has too much raw talent to ignore. Sure, it’s likely he won’t be a starter anytime soon, but with a solid tenure as a backup, he may get a chance to start for someone down the road with a real chance at making a splash. For now, he’s just hoping to get out of Oakland as soon as possible.

About Shane Clemons

Shane Clemons came from humble beginnings creating his own Jaguars blog before moving on to SBNation as a featured writer for the Jaguars. He then moved to Bloguin where he briefly covered the AFC South before taking over Bloguin's Jaguars blog. Since the inception of This Given Sunday, Shane has served as an editor for the site, doing his best not to mess up a good thing.

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