'Underused' Terrelle Pryor can't figure out why Jets cut him
Jets wide receiver Terrelle Pryor reacts after catching a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of a game against the Broncos at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 7. Credit: James Escher
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Terrelle Pryor said he thought he was “underused” and didn’t understand why the Jets waived him nearly two weeks ago. Pryor had a groin tear that the Jets thought would sideline him for several weeks. But Pryor, who signed with the Bills Monday, is already running.
“I was going to miss a game, and then I got cut,” Pryor told reporters in Buffalo. “So I guess I don’t know if I wasn’t a part of their plan, or whatever it was.”
Todd Bowles said he had a lot of respect for Pryor as a player and a person, and that the only reason the Jets cut him was because of the injury.
“I’m not going to go into the injury things or what we thought,” Bowles said. “Obviously, he healed quicker.”
At the time, it was surprising that the Jets waived Pryor, whom they signed in the offseason. They are short on receivers and Pryor had become a favorite red-zone target for Sam Darnold, catching two touchdown passes.
When they cut Pryor, they promoted receiver Deontay Burnett from the practice squad. There was talk that the Jets would bring back Pryor when he was healthy. However, he wasn’t eligible to re-sign for four weeks, Bowles said, because the Jets waived Pryor using an injury designation.
As far as Pryor’s claim that he was underused, Bowles said, “I think every wideout I’ve ever known in the history of the game has been underused.”
Pryor said he has no resentment for the Jets and that he respects Bowles and everyone in the organization. But he also he was “upset” and “it’s embarrassing” that he got cut. Pryor will face his old team Nov. 11 at MetLife.
The Jets remain shorthanded at receiver. Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson, who both missed last week’s game with ankle injuries, didn’t practice Wednesday. The Jets signed Rishard Matthews last week, but he didn’t catch a pass against the Bears. Bowles didn’t rule out the possibility of signing someone else.
“We’ll see how the week goes, what we need and what we may need,” Bowles said. “We may work some out. We have people on call. We may go with what we got.”
Injury report
The Dolphins said quarterback Brock Osweiler will start his fourth consecutive game in place of Ryan Tannehill (shoulder) ... Cornerbacks Trumaine Johnson (quadriceps) and Morris Claiborne (excused), defensive lineman Steve McLendon (ankle), tight end Neal Sterling (concussion), and linebackers Frank Luvu (neck) and Kevin Pierre-Louis (foot) did not practice. Luvu was getting tests on his neck, said Bowles, who didn’t know the severity of the injury.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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