Oakland QBs Pryor, McGloin auditioning for backup role?
The Oakland Raiders will be starting another quarterback on Sunday against the Denver Broncos. Don’t worry – or do, depending on how you look at it – it’s Terrelle Pryor.
Matt McGloin had started the previous six games for the Raiders and didn’t really do anything to garner a benching from head coach Dennis Allen and offensive coordinator Greg Olson, especially when you consider the lack of weapons he had to work with.
The same could be argued for Pryor, although his 5 touchdowns to 11 interceptions ratio – over 8 starts — is a bit eye-popping.
McGloin has lost five consecutive games after winning in his first start against the Houston Texans. He has thrown 5 picks to just 2 TDs in the previous two weeks and has an 8/8 ratio in that department for the season. The offense does seem to run better through the undrafted rookie out of Penn state, but that point is moot for the Raiders’ coaching staff it would seem.
Both quarterbacks are essentially first-year players – McGloin officially – and neither have started more than 9 games in the NFL.
Olson described his decision to go with Pryor as an audition for future reference. Oakland (4-11) will have approximately $69 million in cap space this offseason and it just might behoove them to see what they have now. Although it seems painfully clear at this point – they need help and cutting ties with players will certainly be a part of the rebuilding process.
Olson talked about starting Pryor in a report from CSN Bay Area’s Scott Bair.
"“It just gives us a chance now to decide where exactly we are, at the quarterback position,” offensive coordinator Greg Olson said. “We’ll discuss that at the end of the season with management and ownership and what we feel like our needs are and where we feel like these guys are at right now. Right now, if we felt like either one of them was a certain No. 1 we would be moving in that direction.”"
So there you have it. An audition for a possible future backup role, or so it would seem.