Last year, Browns receiver and former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor ultimately didn’t play during a scrimmage at Ohio Stadium. This year, he played -- and he played very well.
Pryor caught a pair of touchdown passes, including a 75-yarder from Josh McCown to end the scrimmage. He also threw a long pass after a pitch from quarterback Robert Griffin III. Marlon Moore was unable to run down the bomb.
“He’s done a tremendous job,” coach Hue Jackson told reporters after the session. “There are a lot of guys that I can say that about, but he’s definitely one. H has taken this opportunity and he is trying to make the most of it. Remember I drafted him with Al Davis when he came out to Oakland. He couldn’t do any football for six weeks, and he wanted to be a quarterback. That is what really believed he was. I’ll never forget last year when he was with me in Cincinnati for a little while and wanted to be a quarterback. I didn’t have enough confidence to ask him to change positions at that time, and that’s why we let him go to be honest with you because I felt like he needed to make a decision about what he needed to do. . . . He made that decision, and he has never looked back. I think we see the fruit of his hard work. That’s what it is. He’s worked extremely hard and that’s what you see.”
Jackson said he made no effort to showcase Pryor in his return to Columbus, and that the performance just happened. When the preseason begins, we’ll see if Pryor has similar performances. If he does, the Browns may be ready to move even closer to becoming contenders.