Recent reports from The Plain Dealer have indicated that the Cleveland Browns will send a representative to Terrelle Pryor’s pro day workout, which is being conducted in advance of the NFL’s supplemental draft on Monday.
Look, I know it’s preseason. The list of guys who have been Preseason All-Stars but later turned out to be Regular Season Flops is a mile long. I know that most teams aren’t showing their full array of defensive sets and that many defensive starters are resting as well.
Having said that, Colt McCoy has played lights out football in the first two games of the preseason. The offense has looked great with McCoy at the quarterback position and he is showing a solid grasp of Pat Shurmur’s West Coast offense. Keep in mind that he did this yesterday without all-world running back Peyton Hillis and one of his top targets in Mohamed Massaquoi.
The last thing we need to do is to bring in a guy like Pryor.
First of all, Pryor’s a Buckeye. Clevelanders love the Buckeyes. Many Browns fans are going to want to see Pryor on the field if the Browns bring him in. I have a feeling that a lot of fans would still want him to be the quarterback regardless of how well McCoy performs.
Secondly, with the Browns approaching some semblance of stability on the team, the last thing we need to do is bring in a guy like Pryor. Mercifully, we had a quiet offseason. No players of note were involved in major legal trouble. The Browns have a great set of hard-working, blue-collar, solid character guys. Bringing in someone who was touted as one of the biggest quarterback prospects ever but whose career flamed out amidst allegations of improper benefits and someone who is represented by one of the most powerful, controlling agents in sports (Drew Rosenhaus) would simply invite trouble into the locker room and onto the team. The Browns aren’t New England, with a solid locker room culture, clearly defined leaders, and a head coach who would make Lord Voldemort quiver in fear. The Browns are a team with a rookie head coach and a number of guys who have the potential to be solid leaders but just aren’t there yet.
There are plenty of other teams in the league who need a quarterback. Cleveland is not one of them.
There are plenty of other teams in the league who are built to easily handle distractions without having an effect on the team’s on-field performance. Cleveland is not one of them.
Browns fans should hope that the purpose of the Browns’ representative at Pryor’s pro workout is to give off the image that there is a high demand for Pryor and hope that another team in the league uses a high draft pick on him.
Browns should nab him and use him like the Jets used Brad Smith. Or convert him to a WR..Go Browns