ALAMEDA – Matt McGloin will remain the Raiders starting quarterback. While the undrafted rookie is expected to start Dec. 8 against the New York and could retain that role indefinitely, coach Dennis Allen wants to further evaluate his young quarterbacks before the season’s out.
That means, at some point, Terrelle Pryor is going to play.
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Exactly when, and for how long, remains in question.
Pryor hasn’t seen action in nearly a month. He was decommissioned after a disastrous Nov. 10 loss to the New York Giants, when he kept the gravity of a sprained right MCL from the coaching staff, played poorly and then used injury as an excuse in a fateful postgame press conference.
He was inactive the following week with injury, but was available to execute the Pryor package the next two weeks. Allen decided against it.
The option remains open, and Allen wants to find the appropriate time and place for him to succeed. Health, Allen says, plays a role in Pryor’s return.
“I think we want to try to see more of him at some point,” Allen said Friday. “Injuries are a tough thing. They’re hard to account for. You don’t know how things are going to respond and how quickly people are going to get back. Obviously, not getting action against the Titans was good rest for him. With the short week, and again, only having 20 plays in the second half, we weren’t able to get him involved in the offense. But I think that’s something we want to look at moving forward, but we’ll see how that plays out.”
Allen said he wants to evaluate Pryor when healthy. He flashed great potential, huge progress and shortcomings aplenty in eight starts. The more game footage he produced, the more he seemed to struggle.
The Raiders have seen encouraging signs from McGloin over a small sample size, but there are kinks in his game. McGloin’s made some rookie mistakes, but hasn’t done anything thus far to warrant a demotion.
“I don’t think Matt’s done anything to play himself out of that position,” Allen said. “I think as Terrelle gets more and more healthy, to be able to see him more involved in the offense is something that we’ll continue to look at. I think Matt has gone in and handled himself pretty well. Really, in every game that he’s been the starting quarterback, we’ve had an opportunity to win those football games.”
McGloin is leading a two-man race now, but it could get crowded this offseason. Raiders could add a passer through free agency or the draft to bolster the position, especially if neither quarterback is viewed as a long-term solution.
“I definitely think that’s something that we need to see,” Allen said. “We need to have a good evaluation of what we have at the quarterback position as we move forward. These last four weeks will be instrumental in us being able to do that.”
