After showing a lot of promise early this season, Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor has been benched for undrafted rookie Matt McGloin. But Pryor won’t call this season a failure.
“I don’t look at my ups and downs as a failure,” Pryor said, via CSNBayArea.com. “I just look at it as another experience, you know. Did I make some bad plays or throw interceptions at bad spots or difficult times in a game? Yeah. Who hasn’t? I just think it’s a sense of learning and understanding the situations in games. Have I made plays? Absolutely. It comes hand in hand. You just keep experiencing and you keep learning and you try not to make the mistakes but they happen.”
Pryor does admit he did one thing wrong: He played in the Raiders’ November 10 game against the Giants without telling the coaching staff how badly his knee was hurting. In that game he completed just 11 of 26 passes for 122 yards, threw an interception, lost a fumble and was sacked four times. Afterward he said his knee contributed to his bad day, and the Raiders weren’t pleased that he waited until after the game to say his knee was limiting him.
“Whether I was talked into going or whatever the case may be, I went out and I have to be able to handle the business for the team,” Pryor said. “Everyone counted on me to go out there and lead. It was just bad leadership on my side to make an excuse and say it was my knee. Whether it was or not, that’s one of my biggest regrets right there. Anytime you step on the field you have to make plays. You’re held accountable. That’s a moment I wish I would’ve handled differently.”
McGloin isn’t as physically gifted as Pryor, but McGloin has been a much more effective passer than Pryor this season, and that calls into question whether Pryor has a future in Oakland. Pryor may not feel like a failure, but as his third season winds down, it’s hard not to view him as a disappointment.