Will Terrelle Pryor be a quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, or will they try to convince him to play another spot?
The Seahawks made one of their surprising moves (are any of their moves surprising anymore?) Monday evening by making a trade with the Oakland Raiders to acquire Pryor, who was about to be released by the Oakland Raiders. Seattle general manager John Schneider gave up a seventh-round draft pick to get Pryor.
In that case, he's worth it. Pryor is scheduled to make $705,000 in 2014. At 6-foot-6, 235 pounds with 4.4 speed, Pryor is an exceptional athlete. But is his future at quarterback or somewhere else on the field?
“Terrelle is an incredibly explosive athlete and we're excited for him to come in and compete," Schneider said in a Seahawks news release.
A running quarterback certainly fits into the Seahawks' offensive scheme, as fans have seen with Russell Wilson. Pryor, 24, is similar to Wilson as far as running read-option plays. Maybe the Seahawks see Pryor as a long-range answer as a backup.
Backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who turned 31 on Monday, was a free agent before signing a new one-year deal at $1.25 million for 2014. The Seahawks players love Jackson. He knows the offense and he is the ultimate team guy.
So could the Seahawks talk Pryor into considering a move? Pryor could be sort of a hybrid tight end/receiver that the Seahawks are looking for, something the team sought in its interest in former Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley.
Maybe, but I'm guessing Pryor is coming to Seattle to compete at quarterback for the backup spot behind Wilson. Reportedly, the 49ers also were interested in signing Pryor.
Pryor, the former Ohio State quarterback, started nine games last season and passed for 1,798 yards. He completed 57 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His total QB rating of 30.5 was third-lowest in the NFL last season, but he set a franchise rushing record for a quarterback with 576 yards while playing behind Oakland's porous offensive line.
Interesting side note: Wilson now is the third-highest paid quarterback on the team, making a base salary of $662,000 this year. Obviously, that's about to change dramatically.
It's also interesting that Oakland and Seattle have made two quarterback deals in the past year. The Seahawks traded Matt Flynn to Oakland last April.
This is what the Seahawks do, bring in talented athletes and find a place for them where they can help the team and excel as individuals. Maybe that's still at quarterback for Pryor, maybe it's elsewhere. For Seattle, it certainly is worth the cost of a seventh-round pick.