Oakland Raiders want Terrelle Pryor to fail, agent says
Coach Dennis Allen announced Monday that Terrelle Pryor would be given one more shot to prove himself worthy of consideration for the Oakland Raiders' quarterback job in 2014.One might suspect reclaiming the starting gig for the season finale would be welcome news in Pryor's camp. That's not the case.
Pryor's agent is irate about Allen's handling of the situation since mid-November.
"I think they're putting him in hopes that he fails," agent Jerome Stanley told CSN Bay Area on Monday. "I think they're putting him in hopes that he has a bad game, so (Allen) can then justify the Matt McGloin situation.
"You have to understand the coach is putting him in, he doesn't want him to look good," Stanley added. "And you can write that. ... If he looks good this week, it makes the past five weeks look like a bad decision."
If Allen is sabotaging his quarterback's nascent career in Week 17, he has a funny way of showing it. Pryor is facing an injury-ravaged Broncos defense that ranks in the bottom third in the NFL in points and yards allowed.When Pryor faced Denver in Week 3, he set career highs in completion percentage, passing yards, yards per attempt and passer rating. By any measure, it remains no worse than the second-best game of Pryor's career.
Stanley's problems with Allen run deeper than this week's decision, of course. The agent believes Pryor had shown enough to be given the benefit of the doubt even after McGloin temporarily rejuvenated the offense.
"After they got back from (a Thanksgiving loss to Dallas)," Stanley reasoned, "(Pryor) should have been reinserted into the starting lineup and been allowed to use the rest of the year to develop so that he could have been ready to go."
Stanley and the Raiders' brass obviously don't see eye to eye on that issue. Pryor was floundering at the time, tossing eight consecutive interceptions without a touchdown pass over a four-game span while struggling to make reads as defenses adjusted to his running ability.
Those offensive woes reinforced doubts in the organization that Pryor would be the long-term answer.
As far as Stanley is concerned, the Raiders simply don't appreciate the solution they see up close and personal every day.
"Terrelle Pryor is the best and most dynamic athlete in the NFL playing the quarterback position. He also has won games and been productive when given the opportunity," Stanley posited. "It's not brain surgery. His coach stumbled upon a gem, the find of the season in Terrelle Pryor. He stumbled upon him and then he botched the discovery. It was ridiculous, just ridiculous."Pryor will now spend one of the most important weeks of his career fielding questions about his agent when he should be concentrating on leaving a lasting imprint on the memories of the Raiders' front office.
UPDATE: Pryor, via his verified Twitter account, apologized for his agent's comments late Monday.
"I apologize for the recent comments toward the Raiders organization. That's not what I'm about. I'm thankful for this opportunity given to me by this great organization and the phenomenal fans. I'm very excited to play with my teammates Sunday! We hope to make you (fans) proud!"