Free agent Terrelle Pryor healthy after stabbing, confident he can still play in NFL

No matter where his football career goes from here, two words will always follow Terrelle Pryor.

What if.

What if he had gone somewhere other than Ohio State?

What if he had not switched positions and stayed a quarterback in the NFL? What if he had signed a multi-year deal when he had the chance and stayed with the Cleveland Browns?

What if he didn’t get injured so often? Or, what if he had chosen basketball over football?

The list goes on.

“It’s always been that way,” Pryor said. “You’re always going to wonder about those things. But I am thinking about where I am now. And I know I can still play in the NFL.”

The former Jeannette and Ohio State star quarterback-turned-pro wide receiver is far from ready to give up on his career in pro football.

A free agent since he was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars in September after being placed on injured reserve, has been with nine teams in eight years since entering the NFL via the supplemental draft in 2011.

Injuries have haunted him, from groin and hamstring ailments, to an ankle problem that required surgery. It has been fits and starts since he became a pro.

But Pryor said he is healed and ready to test the free agent waters yet again. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Pryor believes he has plenty left in the tank.

But will a team take a chance on the 30-year-old this offseason?

“I definitely have four or five years left,” Pryor said. “The only thing that really plagued me from playing at the highest level of my abilities is injuries. Things like that kept popping up and it was frustrating.

“I want to show what I can do when I am healthy. All people say is, ‘Can he stay healthy?’ Well, I am healthy and I feel good. I plan to play football next season. With the right opportunity, it can be big. Whatever opportunity I get, I can make a difference.”

Scary situation

Pryor is getting his life back to normal after a near-death experience, and the turmoil that followed, in November.

He said he nearly died after he was stabbed in the chest, allegedly by his live-in girlfriend at their Pittsburgh North Side apartment. An attempted homicide has since been dropped against Shalaya Briston.

With legal action still pending — Pryor is charged with simple assault in the incident — he is not able to discuss details of the case or what happened that night, but he is grateful to still be alive.

“I lost four liters of blood,” he said. “It wasn’t a good situation. It was scary.”

Pryor posted on Instagram after the incident, “Stared death in the eye in same place my son was born.”

His next hearing is April 7, he said, and he intends to clear his name.

Hometown discount?

Pryor, the top high school football prospect in the nation in 2008, reached out to the Steelers through social media in November, essentially asking the team to give him a look. He said he can be a Pro Bowler if he gets “10 targets a game.”

“I love my City!!! And they love me,” he wrote on Instagram.

That hometown connection never materialized, but it doesn’t mean it can’t happen in the future.

“I would love an opportunity to play here,” Pryor said. “I turned down two teams last year because I wanted to play in Pittsburgh. I think it would be a good fit.”

Pryor and his camp hope his name comes up at this week’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

“We have set up meetings with four teams,” said Mike Simon, Pryor’s agent who works with Vantage Management Group. Pryor used to be represented by high-profile agent Drew Rosenhaus.

“Teams are wanting to know how he is going with his recovery,” Simon said, “and if he will be healthy moving forward.”

Injured list

Pryor said the injuries not only put him on the shelf but they also affected outside perception of his game and talents.

The setbacks often rendered him helpless, but time and again he recovered without a broken spirit. He wants to prove to critics, as much as to himself, that he still can be a top-level wideout.

“My body finally feels balanced,” Pryor said. “I have been working hard and paying the proper people to take care of my body. I just need a chance.”

Pryor, who can still outrun a lot of NFL players, has worked his way back to form again, training extensively and undergoing physical therapy to regain his strength and improve his mental focus.

He said the scar tissue in his chest was painful for some time but he has adjusted to it as his body recovers.

He trains with Anthony Keriotis, a former Washington & Jefferson football player who works for Faster Pittsburgh, while also taking care of his 5-year-old son, Terrelle Jr.

“It’s crazy when you’re injured,” he said. “So much goes through your mind. You lose that alpha mentality for a minute. You want to do whatever you can to get back out there and compete.”

And that goes for a pass-catcher whose body and mind weren’t always on the same page, even when the football was in the air and Pryor was the target.

“Normally, I would come out of cuts and think about the ball,” he said. “When I was hurt, mentally, I would worry more about the cuts than catching the ball.”

Pryor became known for posting his daily workouts on social media. From weight lifting to balance drills, he showed the world how hard he trained.

But did he train too hard? Did he overwork his body and make it more susceptible to injury?

“I guess it’s a possibility,” Pryor said. “But honestly, you can’t work too hard. You can’t prepare too much.”

Leave it to hard luck, then.

By the numbers

Pryor had three catches in as many preseason games with Jacksonville, all against the Miami Dolphins.

He played for the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in 2018 and had a total of 16 receptions for 252 yards and two touchdowns in eight regular-season games.

With the Washington Redskins the previous year he had 20 catches for 240 yards and two TDs.

His best year remains 2016 when he played for the Browns and had 77 receptions for 1,007 yards and four scores.

His most memorable play must be his 93-yard touchdown run from scrimmage as Raiders quarterback against the Steelers in 2013.

Not about the money

Injuries cost Pryor incentives in his contracts. Still, Sportstrac.com estimates he has signed to make more than $14 million, including $6 million with the Washington Redskins in 2017, over the course of his career.

“It’s not about the money for me,” Pryor said. “I am doing OK there. I have some businesses on the outside that are going well. I just want to prove myself as a player.”

Pryor keeps up with Jeannette football and basketball. Last week, he bought the boys basketball team new Nike shoes for the playoffs. He said he would do so if the Jayhawks won a section title. He has been in the gym shooting around, too, rekindling his fondness for his second-favorite sport.

“Maybe I will try to play basketball some day,” Pryor said. “Maybe I can do both sports.”

Confidence never has been lacking in Pryor’s world but as he gets older, reality is more than a word.

“I can go outside right now and run routes and go against defenders,” Pryor said. “It’s second nature. It’s second nature, too, playing quarterback. It’s not that. It’s maintaining my body, the volume. Staying on top of your body is the main key. Doing that and having the right people around me to help … I’ll be fine and ready to go.”