Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen announced Friday that second-year quarterback Terrelle Pryor will start Sunday's season finale against the San Diego Chargers.
Terrelle Pryor will start for Raiders in Week 17
It looks like Terrelle Pryor will be thrown into the fire Sunday after beating out Matt Leinart in practice this week.
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Pryor had been splitting first-team reps with Matt Leinart all week with Carson Palmer (cracked ribs/bruised lung) ruled out well in advance. Apparently Allen liked what he saw though, as Pryor is now expected to make his first NFL start.
The move makes perfect sense too, with the double-digit loss Raiders in full-out evaluation mode. If Pryor plays well, Oakland could conceivably cut the uninspiring Carson Palmer with his 2013 salary being entirely non-guaranteed. Levi Damien of Silver and Black Pride also theorizes that the team might even be able to flip Pryor for a draft pick if he doesn’t face plant, with the upcoming draft being so thin on quarterback talent.
If he fails, at least the Raiders know that they can move on and target a new signal caller through free agency or the draft.
Pryor has played just eight offensive snaps in his professional career after Al Davis decided to burn a third-round pick on him in the 2011 supplemental draft.
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