At 3-10 and in the midst of another disappointing season, the Raiders don’t have a lot to lose at this point.
That’s why Oakland head coach Dennis Allen is thinking about giving second-year quarterback Terrelle Pryor some playing time over the final three games of the season. Allen said the team wants to get Pryor some in-game experience but made sure not to insinuate that Carson Palmer was no longer the starter, according to Paul Gutierrez of Comcast Sports Net.
“I think the biggest thing is to start getting him in a game, a little bit of game action,” Allen said. “I’m not ready to say that he would be a starter. I think that Carson, obviously, he’s made a couple of mistakes the last couple of weeks, but yet, Carson’s been one of the reasons why, specifically, earlier in the year, why we had a chance in certain games.
“So I’m not down on Carson at all. Obviously, we want to see some of these younger guys play.”
The Raiders’ previous front office, which included Al Davis, chose Pryor in the third round of the 2011 supplemental draft. That forfeited Oakland’s third-round pick in the 2012 draft. The Pryor pick may have handcuffed Allen and general manager Reggie McKenzie in their first draft, but now they might as well see what they have in the 6-foot-6 former Buckeye.
Pryor is an intriguing player — he was clocked as low as 4.32 seconds in his 40-yard dash at his pro day — but he’s also considered very raw as a quarterback, with limited accuracy. Pryor completed 59.4 percent of his passes in the 2012 preseason, with two passing touchdowns and one interception. He also had 14 carries for 121 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Palmer is currently on pace for 4,683 yards this season. That’s well within reach of Rich Gannon‘s 4,689 franchise record. Merely keeping Palmer from holding a team record over such NFL greats such as Ken Stabler, Jim Plunkett, Daryle Lamonica and Gannon may be reason enough to play Pryor.
Photo via Facebook/Terrelle Pryor
