Has Terrelle Pryor Emerged as Oakland Raiders Franchise QB?

The Oakland Raiders seemingly didn’t view Terrelle Pryor as a franchise quarterback, or even a solid starter, this offseason when they used their fourth-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft on Tyler Wilson and traded their fifth-round 2014 draft pick to acquire Matt Flynn from the Seattle Seahawks.

The Raiders seemingly still have their doubts about Pryor: They pursued quarterback Josh Freeman (who ultimately signed with the Minnesota Vikings) following his release from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Thursday and brought in Pat White and David Carr for workouts on Tuesday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

If Pryor can continue to perform as well as he has in the first five weeks of the Raiders season, he may soon turn the Oakland brass into believers.

While it remains very unclear what Pryor’s place in Oakland’s future will be, his position as the starter for the 2013 season has become clear. He won the starting job in the preseason over Flynn and Wilson, and, in fact, neither remains with the team: Wilson lost a roster spot to undrafted rookie Matt McGloin (who is now Oakland’s second-string quarterback) in the preseason, while Flynn was cut Monday.

Pryor should be at no risk of losing his starting job with Freeman off the market, but there’s no reason his job should be in jeopardy anyway.

In four starts this season (he missed Week 4 versus the Washington Redskins with a concussion), Pryor has completed 68.3 percent of his passing attempts for 845 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions, while rushing for 229 yards on 37 carries. He has led the Raiders to two wins, and his 97.6 passer rating ranks eighth among NFL quarterbacks this season.

The Raiders won’t be signing their 2011 supplemental draft selection to a long-term contract because of four games. But his strong start should, at the very least, start the conversation about whether Pryor could be...

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