Despite a widespread belief that Raiders rookie quarterback Terrelle Pryor would play in the preseason finale against the Seahawks, Pryor was all dressed up -- but he had no place to go.
Pryor didn’t play at all, and now he won’t play until the Raiders’ sixth game, at the earliest. His five-game suspension becomes effective this week, and while he’ll be able to participate in meetings with the team and work out at the facility, he’ll be barred from practicing with his teammates.
Coach Hue Jackson told NBC’s Michele Tafoya before Sunday’s Saints-Raiders game that Pryor would play in Friday night’s game at Seattle.
“I thought about it, but there was so much pressure and having to call plays that he hadn’t had a chance to practice,” Jackson said after the game, according to Paul Gutierrez of CSNBayArea.com. “I didn’t want to put him in an uncomfortable situation. I don’t think that’s fair to the kid.”
Pryor successfully dodged the media after the game, telling Gutierrez, “I’ve got to go get something.” Later, Pryor told another inquiring group of reporters that he had to “go to the bathroom.”
He’ll have plenty of time to go see a man about a horse over the next five weeks. Before that, it would have been nice to get his reaction to being left in the stable on Friday night.