Terrelle Pryor Injury: Oakland Raiders QB has MCL sprain

Oakland Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor (2) scrambles away from New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck (91) during the during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Oakland Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor has been dealing with a knee injury over the past couple of weeks, and it’s more severe than a simple stinger despite the fact that Pryor was able to play today and practice fully last week. According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Vic Tafur, Terrelle Pryor stated that he has an MCL sprain and feels “very sore”. He added that all he needs is rest in order to be good-to-go, and it’s interesting to see that the Raiders, who were extremely cautious with a concussion Pryor had earlier this year, didn’t sit out their possible franchise QB for a game.

That leads me to believe that Pryor’s MCL sprain is of the very minor variety, though that’s not a ground-breaking guess by any means. If this were something like a Grade 2 sprain, then the Raiders would have held Pryor out for a couple of weeks. Pryor re-tweaked his knee injury in last week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and it sounds like Pryor’s condition only worsened with each full practice he took this week. It’s just that nobody thought the injury was this bad until today’s loss to the New York Giants.

Pryor clearly looked off the pace today, and the news that he is “very sore” with an MCL sprain definitely explains that. Aside from a touchdown run, he clearly looked off the pace and couldn’t get anything substantial going for the Raiders offense. It was a tough loss for the Raiders and a tough game for Pryor, so we can only hope that he is significantly healthier and well-rested when the Raiders take on the Houston Texans next week. He’s played very poorly over the past few games, but this injury could put some context to his struggles.

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