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Has the book been closed on one of the Cleveland Browns' biggest offseason storylines of 2015? Around 4:30 PM ET on Thursday, the news broke that the Browns were waiving WR Terrelle Pryor. This comes just a couple of days after the team had cited his potential (in transitioning from quarterback to wide receiver) as one of the reasons he was kept on the roster.
When the Browns featured Pryor running the ball from the quarterback position in the final preseason game, I thought they were trying to plant the seed in the Jets' coaches' minds that it could be a package they feature on Sunday. After Pryor was cut, Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 the Fan revealed that during the media portion of practice this week, the Browns were practicing read-option plays with Pryor. How does a guy go from potentially being a part of the gameplan to being off the team?
Pryor thanked the Browns for the opportunity on Twitter, but also told Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer that they are making a mistake.
Had great time at Cleveland. Happy to get opportunity at Cleveland and good luck this weekend vs jets !
— Terrelle Pryor (@TerrellePryor) September 10, 2015
#Browns Terrelle Pryor confirms for http://t.co/o11vJSOExu that he's been waived. "This will be a mistake by them,'' he said.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) September 10, 2015
The corresponding move to fill Pryor's roster spot saw the team claiming RB Robert Turbin off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks. Turbin, a 4th round pick by Seattle in 2012, has been the primary backup to RB Marshawn Lynch for a few years. He was placed on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain, but then waived/injured. Per Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer, Turbin says that he's still 4-6 weeks away from playing, meaning the Browns will likely reserve a spot for him but believe he can help them long-term.
There are many questions associated with this move, with one of them being what GM Ray Farmer's involvement with it was. Farmer kept Pryor on the initial 53-man roster, but he's currently serving a four-game suspension. Did he lay out instructions that Pryor was at the bottom of the totem pole? Cleveland couldn't have really game-planned that Turbin would be waived after being placed on IR, so who pushed for him to be snatched up?
All eyes will now be on whether a team claims Pryor off waivers on Friday. If not, is there a chance that the Browns still find a way to bring him back, or is the Pryor experiment finally over for good?