Report: Kansas City Chiefs Have Released QB Terrelle Pryor

Pro Football Talk reported on Tuesday that the Kansas City Chiefs have released quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Pryor initially came into the NFL as a lightning rod for controversy following an Ohio State career marked by an impermissible benefits scandal that saw him eventually withdraw from the school and enter the 2011 NFL Supplemental Draft. He was ultimately selected by the Oakland Raiders in Round 2 of the draft, held that summer—and coincidentally became the final player drafted by longtime team owner and general manager Al Davis before his death.

The NFL suspended Pryor for the first five games of the 2011 as punishment for his role in the Ohio State scandal. He appeared in just one play for the Raiders that year, running a quarterback sneak that was called back by a false start. Indeed, Pryor’s entire NFL career thus far feels like a series of false starts.

Pryor appeared in three games and had one start for the Raiders in 2012. He completed 14 of his 30 pass attempts, for 155 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed 10 times for 51 yards. His biggest chance to make an NFL impact came in 2013, when he was named the Raiders’ starting quarterback. In his nine starts, he completed 156 of his 272 pass attempts, for 1,798 yards, seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He rushed 83 times that season, for 576 yards and two touchdowns, with one of those scores coming on a 93-yard designed run in the first play of the Raiders’ Week 8 defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers. An MCL sprain suffered in November ended his run as starter, while a trade to the Seattle Seahawks in April 2014 ended his tenure in Oakland.

Pryor was released by the Seahawks as part of the team’s final roster cuts prior to the start of the 2014 season. Though he worked out for a number of teams, he did not manage to land on a roster until January, when the Chiefs brought him aboard. But his time there was also brief. Pryor went from the No. 5 quarterback on the Chiefs’ roster—behind Alex Smith, Chase Daniel, Tyler Bray and Aaron Murray—to back in the free agency pool, looking for a new team to call home.

In an era where dual-threat quarterbacks are very much in fashion, Pryor could land with another team to serve as a camp body. He could also realistically stick on a roster in a backup capacity. But with his latest release, Pryor’s dream to be an NFL starter fades even further from reality. Collegiate success does not necessarily translate to a long, productive NFL career, and Pryor’s stay in the league only serves to underscore that fact.

Photo: USA Today Sports