Cleveland Browns

Browns teammate explains why Terrelle Pryor is so disliked in the NFL

Published Jan. 10, 2017 10:52 a.m. ET

Cameron DaSilva

Not much went right for the Cleveland Browns this season. They won just one measly game, had yet another revolving door at quarterback and the defense was one of the worst in the NFL. For as bad as 2016 was, though, there was a bright spot: Terrelle Pryor.

The quarterback-turned-receiver had a breakout year to the tune of 77 catches for 1,007 yards, becoming the second player in NFL history with a 1,000-yard passing season and 1,000-yard receiving season. It was a terrific campaign – one that established Pryor as a full-time receiver – but it wasn’t all good.

Pryor got into it with several players, from Adam Jones to Janoris Jenkins. It was bizarre to see players show such disdain for Pryor, but teammate Andrew Hawkins thinks he knows why.

"He's a polarizing – he's a quarterback," Hawkins said on “Good Morning Football” Tuesday. "So the quarterbacks get all the love. Even though he's a receiver, he's still a quarterback because we're talking about him at this desk. And players don't like that. It's hard to get recognition, it's hard to be talked about in the morning shows. And Terrelle gets that. I think it rubs DBs the wrong way and opponents in general."

Pryor took the high road after being attacked, which at least shows some maturity on his part.

https://twitter.com/TerrellePryor/status/803019088071192578

Transitioning from quarterback to wide receiver isn’t easy and it’s not something many players even attempt. Hawkins didn’t think Pryor would be able to pull it off, but he’s certainly been proved wrong.

"Terrelle came in last year as a QB convert – he was going to wide receiver and I still remember the first practice. I'm like this kid is terrible,” Hawkins said. “There's no way this is going to work. You know how hard it is. This is not going to happen. He's 26, 27 years old, he's not going to do it.”

“There's not a player that has worked as hard as Terrelle Pryor. I'm talking about putting the time in,” Hawkins said. “Terrelle will text me at 1 o'clock in the morning like, 'Hey, do you think this play is going to get called?' I'm like, 'Terrelle, I'm off the clock. Don't talk to me, I've got kids.' He's like, 'Aw, yeah, man, I have no life. This is my life. Something's wrong with me.' But this is who he is. He's the first one in the facility, he's the last one to leave ... To see where he is now is amazing."