Cleveland Browns

Terrelle Pryor's first catch with the Browns was a beauty

Published Jan. 3, 2016 3:20 p.m. ET

foxsports

Just as his head coach said he would in training camp, Cleveland Browns QB-turned-receiver Terrelle Pryor looked the part while bringing down a 42-yard catch in Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pryor -- a star quarterback at Ohio State before being taken in the third round of the 2011 supplemental draft by the Raiders -- capitalized on a size mismatch with Antwon Blake, outleaping the Steelers corner while streaking down the left sideline for his first catch since converting to receiver last summer. Pryor is 6-foot-4, and Blake is 5-foot-9.

Terrelle Pryor makes a gorgeous 42-yard leaping catch and looks like a natural doing it. #PITvsCLE https://t.co/RFPLi9R7OK
— NFL (@NFL) January 3, 2016

Pryor has one previous reception in his career, a 22-yarder in 2012, his second season in Oakland. Browns head coach Mike Pettine sung Pryor's praises for his progress in the switch from quarterback when he had him on the roster back in August, but Pryor didn't make Cleveland's final roster. He tried out with a handful of teams after that but did not land a contract until the Browns brought him back in the beginning of December.

While the 42-yarder was Pryor's only catch of the game, Pettine called it a step forward in his transition to receiver:

"That is why it was good to get him on the roster and get him playing. I think the big play that he made is indicative of what he is capable of. There is a lot of work that needs to put in there to get him polished. It is obvious that he possess this skillset and he needs to play. That’s why I think a good offseason, OTAs and minicamps and a full training camp – I wouldn’t bet against him making it as a wide out. That is hard to do. We talked about it way back when, but he certainly possesses the mentality and the skillset."

Whether Pryor showed enough potential to land back in Cleveland next season as a receiver or with another team remains to be seen. Pryor says he'll just continue to work hard and hone his craft.

"It’s like life. You don’t know what the next step is. You just have an image in your head and you go about your business. That’s what I do everyday, just work harder than the next man, try and work harder than everybody else and just push forward."