After sitting behind Jason Campbell, Carson Palmer and Kyle Boller on the Oakland Raiders' quarterback depth chart as a rookie, 2011 supplemental draft pick Terrelle Pryor has finally seen the field this summer.
Usually the third quarterback off the bench behind Palmer and offseason addition Matt Leinart, Pryor took advantage of Leinart's injured finger and replaced Palmer in the third quarter of last night's 31-20 win over the Detroit Lions. In less than two quarters of action, Pryor showed why the Raiders burned a 2012 third-round draft pick on him.
Pryor completed 3 of his 5 pass attempts for 137 yards, including a pair of long touchdown passes to promising rookie receiver Juron Criner in the fourth quarter. Pryor demonstrated his athleticism by gaining 59-yards on a scramble on Third-and-6, before capping the drive off with a 17-yard touchdown run two plays later.
With Carson Palmer struggling -– four interceptions in three games –- one might think that a controversy could be brewing in the Bay Area. That won't be the case, as head coach Dennis Allen says Pryor is still early in the developmental process.
"He's still a work in progress," Allen said of Pryor, via Paul Gutierrez of CSNBayArea.com. "But I thought he made some strides today. He's not where we need him to be. He's not where he wants to be. But he made some progress."
Palmer's job as a starter might be safe, but Pryor is beginning to make the case for playing time. Whether that's in the red zone, as Gutierrez suggests, or as the full-fledged No. 2, it will be hard for Allen to keep Pryor off the 46-man active roster on Sundays this fall.
Follow Brian McIntyre on Twitter _@brianmcintyre_.
