BEREA, Ohio _ Terrelle Pryor has switched teams. He's switched positions. Now he's switching sides.
The Browns recently moved the former quarterback from X wide receiver to Z. The change calls for Pryor to often line up on the side of the tight end and run different routes.
"Every day it's been getting better and better. I'm getting more comfortable with it," Pryor, a former Ohio State University standout, said Monday before the fourth practice of training camp. "I'm getting a lot more reps at walk-through, so it's really starting to come."
Last week, Pryor made the play of practice from his new spot. He ran past cornerback Jamar Taylor on a go route, then bolted back to the ball and dived to catch a pass of about 50 yards from quarterback Robert Griffin III at the 5-yard line. Then he spiked the ball.
"There was a bunch [of] good balls thrown to me in camp so far, but we haven't connected," Pryor said. "I caught a couple, but it was out of bounds or something happened. I like to run deep, run past guys, so it is what it is. It's football. I'm an aggressive guy. I like to get the juices flowing. I like to get the team up. Big play. Let's make a big deal."
Asked about the play, coach Hue Jackson said Pryor's ability to track the ball remains a work in progress.
"He made the transition from quarterback to receiver, but I think he's done an outstanding job," Jackson said. "We've moved him from one side of receiver to another side, so he's in another transition. He's handled it extremely well. I'm very proud of what he's doing."
Former All-Pro selection Josh Gordon, reinstated by the NFL last week, plays X receiver. Jackson, though, downplayed Gordon's return impacting the decision to move Pryor.
"It wasn't so much about Josh," Jackson said. "It's just you want to put guys in certain positions that you think is going to really help the football team. There are a lot of different things that we'll do with Terrelle because I think he's very talented. We'll just continue to find different ways to have him make a difference."
The competition for roster spots at receiver should be fierce, but Pryor seems to be in a category by himself because his versatility complements Jackson's creativity as the offense's play-caller. Pryor, 27, said he still practices throwing quite a bit, and he's already thrown a pass as a wildcat quarterback in this camp.
"I just want to go and help however I can, be a playmaker," said Pryor, who is 6-feet-4 and 223 pounds. "If that's starting or not starting, whatever. Put me on the field. I'm going to make a play, and that's got to be my mindset. That's what I want to do."
What ought to help Pryor is his knowledge of Jackson's offense. When Jackson was head coach of the Oakland Raiders, he picked Pryor in the third round of the 2011 supplemental draft. Then Pryor spent more time with Jackson last spring in Cincinnati, where Jackson was the Bengals' offensive coordinator. He chose to move to receiver after the Bengals cut him last summer.
Pryor sits between Gordon and rookie first-round draft pick Corey Coleman, a promising X receiver, in meetings so he can answer their questions about Jackson's system.
"Sometimes, [Jackson will] just tell me, 'Terrelle, shut up. Don't answer this.' It's because I know this stuff pretty good," Pryor said. "I'm excited just to get the guys sped up, or if the guys have any questions, I'm here to help in any way."
Gordon, who's been suspended for the first four regular-season games of 2016, has a ton of questions after missing the better part of the past two seasons because of recurring violations of the NFL's substance-abuse policy. His attempt to catch up has prompted Pryor's rise as a leader.
"[Gordon] broke the rules, and he dealt with the consequences, but this guy, he sits by me in every meeting, asks me questions," Pryor said. "... He's been in special-teams meetings ... and he's not even on special teams. He wants to be involved."
It's similar to the way retired NFL receiver Randy Moss has taken Pryor under his wing. Pryor has logged many hours, including this summer, training at the Randy Moss Football Academy in Charlotte, N.C. Browns quarterback Josh McCown worked out with him there before camp started last week. Pryor said Moss has "been spectacular" and has shared tips about Z receiver.
"[Pryor] keeps improving and he's turning over every rock to make sure he can find a way to get himself better, and it's a hats off and a credit to him because he wants it," said McCown, who'll likely be Griffin's backup. "Some guys I've been around in the past [who] have made that kind of transition are kind of reluctant, and their reluctance kind of leaks through in everything that they do. But that's not the case with TP. TP is all in."
The Browns' previous regime kept Pryor on the 53-man roster after camp but cut him a few days before the regular-season opener. He was out of work until the team re-signed him in December. He appeared in three games last season and had one catch for 42 yards.
This time, Pryor is healthy. A nagging hamstring injury plagued him throughout camp last year. He's been swimming regularly and doing other exercises to strengthen his hamstrings.
"I just don't think last year I was ready to run like that," Pryor said. "It's different. I never ran like that in my life."
In other words, Pryor has come a long way as a receiver. And he's still going.
