Terrelle Pryor is ready for a quarterback competition in Oakland. Pryor was picked up by the Raiders in 2011 as an intended backup to starter Carson Palmer. However, Pryor said Wednesday that he is looking to be the team's starting quarterback and is more than ready to take over the position.
General manager Reggie McKenzie has said that Pryor will get the chance to compete against Palmer for the starting job. If Pryor is going to be the team's leader, he first must win over the coaches and prove he can carry the team.
"Right now I'm trying to win over my coaches, win over my teammates and everybody in the facility and let them know that I wanna be a leader, a great leader, and I'm there for the long haul, and I wanna win just as bad as everybody else. And that's what I want to prove to everybody before I really get into talks of starting and stuff like that," Pryor said to NBC Sports Network.
The Raiders are currently trying to figure out what to do with current starter Palmer's contract. The team will likely ask the veteran to restructure his deal to be friendlier to the cap space. The Raiders are scheduled to pay Palmer $13 million this season. Pryor is showing nothing but respect to the quarterback, recognizing they are two different types of players.
"I don't really wanna give comparisons or anything like that because Carson does a great job of what he does, and I can also play, too, and do some things well, too. So I can't down talk him because he's a great quarterback to me, and I just wanna stay on my side of seeing what I have to do to get better every single day, and that's where I'm at right now," Pryor said.
The Raiders originally picked up Pryor in the third round of the 2011 Supplemental Draft. Pryor and the team agreed to a four-year contract. He first served an NFL-mandated five-game suspension as the beginning of the 2011 season and remained the team's backup after being reinstated. He got on the field late in 2012 after Palmer was sidelined with cracked ribs. He went 13-for-28 for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the 24-21 loss against the San Diego Chargers. He also ran for 49 yards.
Oakland's new offensive coordinator Greg Olson is hoping that Pryor can turn out to be the league's next best mobile quarterback. Pryor has been working with quarterback coaches and is looking impressive in offseason workouts and minicamps.