98.5 The Sports Hub staff report
Could free agent wide receiver Terrelle Pryor’s attempt at an NFL comeback attempt land the 31-year-old in New England?
It’s entirely possible, actually, as Pryor mentioned the Patriots as one of the five NFL teams he’s talked to this offseason in a conversation with TMZ Sports this past weekend. In fact, Pryor noted the Patriots (and the Steelers) as two of his top fits among that group of five.
“Those two are very intriguing,” Pryor admitted. “Especially [with] Cam [Newton]. I’ve been a big fan of him throughout the years. And, obviously, Big Ben, that’s my hometown of Pittsburgh, so that’s just two teams that I really want to play for.”
(Look at that: The Cam Newton Factor is already there for the Patriots. It might not be the same level as The Tom Brady Factor — we’re pretty sure nothing will ever match that — but it’s definitely a start for the Patriots.)
A 6-foot-4 quarterback-turned-wideout, Pryor last played in an NFL game as a member of the Buffalo Bills in 2018, which came after a six-game run with the New York Jets that ended by mid-October. The Buffalo run couldn’t even last that long, as Pryor would appear in just two games before the Bills released him. In total, the Pennsylvania-born Pryor caught 16 of his 30 targets for 252 yards and two scores in that eight-game run between AFC East rivals.
Pryor would then latch on with the Jacksonville Jaguars for 2019 training camp, but failed to make the roster and was released by way of an injury settlement just before the start of the season.
In other words, it’s been a while.
But if there’s a team that’d ever wanna screw around and find out with a talent like Pryor, it’s the Patriots.
After all, it was just four years ago that Pryor hauled in 77 catches for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns for the 2016 Browns. That 1-15 Browns team had Cody Kessler, Josh McCown, and Robert Griffin III each make at least three starts. (Kessler, mind you, was the leader among that group, with eight starts and with losses in all eight of those games.)
Pryor thinks he can still be that kind of talent, too.
“I can still play,” Pryor told TMZ. “And, I can still make plays and dominate. I know that.”
Money shouldn’t be an issue when taking a chance on a player who spent all of 2019 on the shelf, of course, but the Patriots also freed up over $6.5 million in cap space by settling grievances with Antonio Brown and Aaron Hernandez over the weekend.
The Patriots currently have 14 wide receivers signed to their roster.
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