The NFL ruled Thursday morning that Terrelle Pryorwould be eligible for the supplemental draft but will be ineligible to practice or play for the first five weeks of the season. What do you make of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's decision?
The NFL understands the significance of setting new precedents, and Pryor's situation presented some challenges. This explains why it took so long to find a resolution and why the original supplemental draft date was postponed.
This is a smart solution, I believe. The league isn't depriving Pryor of the chance to earn a living in 2011, but there are costly stipulations involved. The timing alone -- with just two days to pull off a pro day or find a way to showcase himself for teams and scouts -- hurts Pryor big time. This is a decision that could later be applied to others in a similar case.
But the inability to play or practice for the first five weeks won't matter that much. If you are drafting Pryor now -- and it's going to be a late-round pick at best -- then it has to be for the future. He wasn't going to be able to do more than hold a clipboard the first five weeks. Pryor is going to be a developmental project, whether it's at quarterback or if he's one day turned into a receiver.
By essentially suspending Pryor for the first five weeks of the regular season, the NFL makes clear its displeasure with how this situation unfolded, but also doesn't force the young man to wait until next March to at least find out where he will play and earn whatever signing bonus and salary he is able to attain now.
Count me among those who are surprised that the NFL is upholding the five-game suspension that Terrelle Pryor was set to serve had he stayed at Ohio State. What a precedent. At first blush, it makes you ponder the implications for other college players who get into trouble at their schools. Will their transgressions follow them into the NFL? What exactly is punishable by the NFL? Pryor has truly become a case study.
By basically transferring Terrelle Pryor's five-game suspension from Ohio State to the NFL, Commissioner Roger Goodell is sending the message that the league will no longer provide safe, short-term refuge for college players who break rules.
Goodell's decision won't have much of an impact on Pryor since he will be joining a team so late in the process. It would be risky for the team that drafts him to place him on the practice squad after surrendering a draft pick, as another team could poach him off the practice squad without having to sacrifice a draft choice.
As for the precedent this sets, it likely won't be much of a deterrent for kids and boosters exchanging $500 handshakes in major college programs. However, players who get caught breaking collegiate rules could see their draft stock fall in the same manner as players who fail drug tests.
If a team can't get you on the field for five games, it likely won't draft you with a top-20 pick.
Forgive me if this sounds like a conspiracy-laden rant, but just how far is the NFL's jurisdiction going to extend? I am waiting anxiously for the first NFL.com headline that reads: "A.J. Green suspended for skipping study hall at Georgia."
The college game certainly has its fair share of problems that we are constantly reminded of anytime we see Reggie Bush, Cam Newton or an ex-Miami player. I am not sure it's the NFL's place to regulate that. If the NFL really wanted to fix something about college football, how about forcing them to enact a playoff system?
I don't like the decision regarding Terrelle Pryor's ineligibility following the supplemental draft. He should be eligible to participate in practices and games without restriction just like any other drafted player. He should have been able to walk into the league under the rules others have followed for years. While I understand the desire for NFL to play nice with the NCAA, I don't believe this was the right circumstance to flex its muscles.
The view from Mt. Pious: Terrelle Pryor is an immature, selfish, unethical kid who played a significant role in The demise of The Ohio State University football program. Even if we set aside his character concerns, it's questionable whether his considerable physical ability will even translate in the NFL.
The view from down here in the real world: Pryor is just one of countless college athletes who take advantage of the intrinsically flawed operation known as big-time college football (also known as "the NFL's minor league"). If he's going to be penalized, then it's only fair to punish every other kid who is suspended or breaks NCAA rules while matriculating.
Whatever you think of the guy, it's plum loco to think there's not at least one NFL team out there who won't risk a third-round pick on a player with the right arm and two legs that Pryor used to win two bowl game MVPs. The Commish wants the league's players to behave like Boy Scouts; the league's head coaches want quarterbacks who win games. There's definitely a team out there that'll find out if Pryor can be both.
I think Roger Goodell is trying to be fair and honor the situation from all angles. And really, from the outside looking in, it looks like a good call to me. I think the commissioner always has an eye towards the personal conduct policy he implemented, and this move is a nod in that direction. At the end of the day, how much impact does Pryor have on the league? Not much, in my humble opinion.
