Terrelle Pryor continues to rack up the frequent flyer miles -- insert your own jokes about his fleet of cars when he was at Ohio State here -- in hopes of continuing his NFL career.
He might have to switch positions if he wants to stick, but Pryor is a good enough athlete that teams continue to want a look. Pryor's latest stop is Cincinnati, where he's participating as a tryout player in the Bengals Rookie Minicamp this weekend.
It's a no-strings, low-risk shot for both parties. These tryouts happen all the time at this time of year, and though more of them turn into nothing than turn into something, players have made it going this way. Pryor has already been on quite a journey since he was linked to the memorabilia and tattoo scandal in 2010 at Ohio State that ended up getting him and Jim Tressel booted off campus, and in Cincinnati he has at least one connection in Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, who was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders when they used a supplemental draft pick on Pryor in 2011.
The Bengals are enamored with size/speed guys -- players who look the part, run really fast and are bigger than most, too -- and have had their share of success with them. Size/speed guys tend to get the most chances, too; the NFL is not for the general population. The Bengals, too, have been known to give guys a second shot (that's sometimes actually a fifth or sixth shot).
Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. Pryor, who will be 26 in June, is still a known name to many football fans. Just 18 months ago he was the Raiders starting quarterback, and though he clearly wasn't a finished product it was still a sight to behold when he tucked the ball and took off.
A 56.3 percent passer over 15 appearances and 10 starts with the Raiders, Pryor may never be a full-time quarterback but he has rare speed and athletic gifts for someone his size (6'4, 233) and could be used in spot duty or potentially make a position switch.
After his Ohio State dismissal he was timed in around 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash at a special summer pro day before the Raiders used a third-round supplemental draft pick on him in 2011. He started nine games at quarterback for the Raiders in 2013 but has since been cut by the Raiders, Seahawks and Chiefs, who released him earlier this week four months after signing him to a futures contract.
The Bengals tried Pryor out last fall as a quarterback in a standard workout that happens almost every week, but nothing came of it. We don't know if he's open to a position switch, or if the Bengals are open to a position switch -- or even open to having him around past Sunday. Even for athletic marvels like Pryor, it's not easy to play wide receiver or tight end in the NFL. Pryor doesn't have practice squad eligibility, either, so any experimenting would have to be done on the fly.
The odds are probably against Pryor hanging around the NFL much longer. But guys who are that big and that fast are always worth a look.
