The Oakland Raiders are in an interesting position quarterback wise as they head into the 2013 offseason and backup Terrelle Pryor has come out and said that he expects to compete and is ready to lead the team next season, meaning a possible trade of Carson Palmer could be coming.
According to ESPN.com, Pryor said on Wednesday that he is ready to compete for the starting position against Carson Palmer when the time comes in training camp and that he is working to win over the rest of the organization this year. He said he "more than ready" to be in the mix for the starting job.
"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," he told the NBC Sports Network on Wednesday.
The Oakland Raiders and general manager Reggie McKenzie have already said that they would like Pryor to get more opportunities and that he would have a chance to compete next season. The team is currently working with last year's starter Carson Palmer to rework his contract so the team can save salary space. If they can't work out a new deal, chances are that Palmer could be traded, giving Pryor his chance to start.
The 33-year-old Palmer is going to be paid $13 million this season and the Raiders would like to lower that number. Pryor has been asked in the past about Palmer and if he is a better option, with the young star being very respectful about the situation.
"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," Pryor said in the interview. "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 did not get to play much since being drafted, but he was able to get on the field at the end of last season for some snaps before starting the final game of the year against the Chargers when Palmer cracked his ribs. Pryor went 13-of-28 for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the 24-21 loss to the Chargers to end the regular-season. He also ran for 49 yards and a touchdown.
New Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson has already said that he wants to get Pryor more time with the first team offense to see what he can do and the team plans to use Pryor at offseason minicamps and workouts as the summer progresses.
Pryor has been working with three coaches since coming out of the draft at Ohio State, including Craig Austin, George Whitfield and Steve Clarkson, who are helping him with balance and footwork.
"He (Austin) always tell me that hard times bring out leadership and leaders, and leaders overcome everything," Pryor said in the interview. "I truly believe that I've been through hard things, things that have made me want to cry, things that make you want to quit as a person, quit as a football player, as a quarterback, things that will crush other people's belief in themselves."
If the Palmer deal isn't worked out, there is a good chance he could be traded this offseason to a team like the Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns or New York Jets. The Raiders are in a prime position to selected quarterback Geno Smith or Matt Barkley and if they feel they can get some value for Palmer and hang on to Pryor and draft a new quarterback, they may decide that is the best move for the team heading into the future.
The Raiders have the third pick in the draft behind the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs, both of whom are not expected to take a quarterback.
