The Oakland Raiders have an important decision to make at quarterback heading into Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts and despite trading for Matt Flynn in the offseason and drafting Tyler Wilson, it appears the neither will be starting, as Terrelle Pryor took the first team reps in practice.
According to the Mercury News and ESPN.com, Pryor was taking the first team snaps for the Raiders in practice to start the week and heading into the first game the team could decide to use Pryor over Flynn. Last season Flynn was beat out by Russell Wilson in training camp for the Seahawks after signing a free agent deal and now it appears he was beat out again. Flynn didn't do anything spectacular in the preseason and head coach Dennis Allen has said he has made a decision on who to start, although he has not made it public yet.
Pryor working with the first team could be a sign in that direction and the team already showed it made a mistake in drafting Wilson after cutting him as a fourth round pick and keeping the undrafted Matt McGloin instead. The Raiders may add Wilson to their practice squad if he clears waivers and they felt no team would claim him after struggling in the preseason. Pryor went just 3 of 8 for 31 yards and an interception in the preseason finale for the Raiders, but Dennis Allen likes his athleticism and now he likely will be starting Week 1.
The Raiders went just 1-3 in the preseason, but that not is always the best prediction for the regular season and with Flynn dealing with a bit of an injury, Pryor will likely be the starter in Week 1 now. Pryor rushed for 45 yards in the final game of the preseason and the Raiders are hoping he can be a Robert Griffin type quarterback for the team. The Raiders will be playing a familiar face in Darrius Heyward-Bey when they play the Colts and he signed with the team after previously being a top 10 pick for Oakland in 2009.
The Raiders went just 4-12 last season and the offense ranked eighth in the league in passing yards with over 250 per game in the air and just 88 on the ground, ranking 28th in the league. The team is hoping to be more consistent with Rashad Jennings and Darren McFadden after biting Latavius Murray on the IR.
