Browns have reportedly started preliminary contract extension talks with Terrelle Pryor

According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer, the Cleveland Browns have started having preliminary contract extension talks with wide receiver Terrelle Pryor.

The need to extend Pryor became evident back on September 25, when he had a breakout all-around performance against the Miami Dolphins. I tweeted that the team needed to extend Pryor ASAP, and the idea was well-received by fans.

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

The big issue now is determining how much Pryor will make. His agent is Drew Rosenhaus, so you know this isn’t going to be some walk-in-the-park type of extension for the Browns to lock down. The one thing that could benefit Cleveland in negotiations is the fact that Pryor has been so vocal about his love for the city and this team. I almost get the feeling that he feels obligated to reward the franchise for being the one team that gave him the opportunity to blossom as a receiver, as the alternative would have been the end of his NFL career. For those reasons, I could see Pryor taking whatever respectable offer Cleveland throws at him.

Two weeks ago, reports surfaced that the Browns value Pryor as the only player who is “untouchable” on the club.

To this point, we’ve only seen one report speculate on what type of numbers Pryor might command, and that came on October 4th via Charles Robinson:

Slated to become a free agent in March, Pryor could very well end up drawing a franchise tag. And if he doesn’t, a league source said the recent deal signed by Los Angeles Rams wideout Tavon Austin ($42 million over four years with more than $25 million guaranteed) would likely be this offseason’s negotiating touchstone.

The Browns have built up more than enough cap space to where they’ve set themselves up to invest heavily in any of their players who panned out. If Pryor ends up being the first benefactor of that in the Sashi Brown era, that’s fine with me.