The Cleveland Browns don’t want to lose Terrelle Pryor to free agency, but they reportedly won’t use the franchise tag to ensure he stays, either.
Per source, Browns are not planning on tagging WR Terrelle Pryor. Would like to get a deal done with him to keep him in Cleveland tho.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 16, 2017
The current projected franchise tag number for wide receivers heading into the new league year sits at right around $15.8 million, per Joel Corry of CBS Sports.
The Browns have plenty of cap space to tag Pryor and still have boatloads of cash to sign players in free agency, so that’s not the issue at play here. The likely reason Cleveland won’t use the franchise tag on Pryor is that he’s only performed at a high level at the receiver position for one season in the NFL.
In 2016, he caught 77 passes for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns. Pretty darn impressive, right?
But prior to his breakout campaign, Pryor had only caught two passes. Period.
He’s clearly still a work in progress, and it’s worth pointing out Pryor was extremely up and down throughout the 2016 campaign. So, while he definitely deserves a big pay raise and has plenty of potential to grow into his role as a receiver, he’s nowhere near worth $15-plus million, even for a season.