BEREA, Ohio _ Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor vowed to do everything in his power to push through an injured hamstring and play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Pryor didn't practice Wednesday because he's dealing with the injury he suffered Sunday in a 28-26 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Yet he's optimistic he'll be ready to face the Bengals, who cut him last summer.
Pryor said he would be staying late at Browns headquarters throughout this week to rehabilitate the injury and receive as much treatment as possible.
"I'll do whatever it takes to win," Pryor said. "So we're going to see how it goes. I'm going to try to (play) 'cause we owe this to the city. We've got to get a win. This whole team, we work so hard, so I'm going to do everything I can possible to make sure I'm ready to go."
Pryor explained he suffered the injury in the third quarter against the Titans and it got worse when he took a hit in the fourth quarter. He said the injury is "nowhere near" as bad as the hamstring injury he suffered during Browns training camp in 2015. That injury lingered for months and contributed to the previous regime cutting Pryor a few days before last year's regular-season opener, only to re-sign him in December.
"I feel good," Pryor said. "I believe we have a great (athletic) training staff, so I'm putting all my faith in them and God obviously. He'll get me up and ready to go.
"We're seeing how it goes, and we're being cautious. (The medical staff is) taking the right steps to make sure I'll be able to help the team on Sunday."
If Pryor can't play Sunday, it'll be a major loss for the Browns (0-6). The former quarterback leads them in catches (33), receiving yards (413) and touchdown receptions (three). Rookie Ricardo Louis would likely start opposite Andrew Hawkins if Pryor were to sit out.
"I'm very impressed," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said of Pryor during a conference call with reporters who cover the Browns. "I'm happy for Terrelle when he's not playing us. He's just done an outstanding job. I'm disappointed he's not doing that here for us."
Pryor wasn't willing to change from quarterback to receiver when he was with the Bengals (2-4) last year, so they cut him as the fourth QB on their depth chart. Browns coach Hue Jackson was the Bengals' offensive coordinator at the time.
"It was suggested by the owner, and I think Hue brought it up to him, but he wasn't ready to do it at that point. He wanted to be a quarterback," Lewis said. "That's what he told me when he came here and even when we decided that we were just going to bring three quarterbacks to training camp."
When Lewis spoke to reporters in Cincinnati, he elaborated on how much Pryor has improved at his new position in a year.
"Last year when he got to play a little bit, he had hamstring issues," Lewis said. "He still looked like a quarterback trying to play wide receiver. This year, he looks like a wide receiver, so credit goes to him."
Pryor will command a lucrative contract as a result of his breakout season. He's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March.
"You don't (think about it) because right now my job is to do the best I can for the team," Pryor said. "There's so much stuff involved in that contract stuff. It's irrelevant right now even to bring that stuff up. Right now, I'm really focusing on Sunday and getting back out there and helping the team. I'm really looking forward to that."
