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Terrelle Pryor: Quarterback or Bust

Quarterback Terrelle Pryor is in Cincinnati after the Bengals invited him for the weekend. Pryor is attempting to make the squad as a quarterback (and only a quarterback).

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

It's quarterback or bust, quarterback Terrell Pryor told reporters during interviews on Friday at Paul Brown Stadium. Pryor is who is one of 19 players who were handed an invitation for a tryout during Cincinnati's rookie minicamp, which features all nine drafted players, 11 college free agent signings, tryout players and Bengals players who were with the squad last year but are still defined as first-year players.

The question with Pryor: Are you going to tryout for quarterback and are you open to playing other positions?

No, the 6-6, 240-pound Pryor says he’s not here as a wide receiver. Even though Jackson is liable to line him up anywhere. "I don’t think he will," Pryor said. "Quarterback is what I know how to play."

Seems a bit trivial to have such a bullheaded approach. If Pryor is signed to an offseason contract -- and it's possible with Andy Dalton, Josh Johnson and AJ McCarron on the roster -- the road would appear difficult to transverse. Why not approach it with a "do whatever it takes" attitude, which could open the door for a Percy Harvin-like attack... playing wide receiver, or out of the backfield, with a constant run/throw option.

Pryor entered the NFL as a third-round pick for the Raiders during the 2011 Supplemental Draft, joining Hue Jackson who was Oakland's head coach at the time. "Pryor said Jackson is the best coach he’s had in the NFL when it comes to relating to him and he feels it will help him that the Bengals’ playbook is very similar to the one he had that rookie year in Oakland," writes Geoff Hobson with Bengals.com.

Injuries derailed Pryor's most-active season (2013), though it wasn't particularly productive (it WAS the Raiders). He started nine games that year, threw seven touchdowns and scored twice more on the ground. On the other hand, he threw 11 interceptions, fumbled seven times (lost two) and was sacked 31 times.

Oakland traded Pryor to Seattle for a seventh-round pick in 2014 but he was released during final cuts. He worked out for the Bengals on Oct. 14, 2014 but the team didn't sign him at that time.