Browns receivers coach Al Saunders thinks his team let a Pro Bowl wide receiver get away this offseason.
Saunders told ESPN that he believes Terrelle Pryor, who left Cleveland for Washington in free agency, is going to be a Pro Bowler at the end of the season.
“I will be shocked if he isn’t in the Pro Bowl,” Saunders said. “He’s going to have that kind of year.”
That raises an obvious question: Why didn’t the Browns keep Pryor, who left for a one-year, $6 million contract that Cleveland easily could have afforded under its salary cap? If Saunders seriously believes Pryor is a Pro Bowler, and the Browns’ front office let him walk anyway, that would suggest that the coaches and the personnel department aren’t on the same page.
Despite playing in a bad offense last season in his first year as a wide receiver after switching from quarterback, Pryor caught 77 passes for 1,007 yards. In a better offense in Washington, it won’t be surprising at all to see Saunders proven right. In which case Pryor was a bargain for Washington, and letting him leave was a mistake for Cleveland.