Terrelle Pryor could’ve been a Pittsburgh Steeler. The Raiders quarterback said in a conference call with Pittsburgh media that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin called and asked if he wanted to play for his hometown team before the 2011 NFL Supplemental Draft.
Pryor politely turned Tomlin down. Pryor, who grew up in the Pittsburgh suburb of Jeannette, Penn., didn’t want to play so close to his hometown.
“Mike said, ‘Hey, I'll draft you if you want to play here,' ” Pryor said, as quoted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But he gave me a story about when he was down in Tampa Bay about a quarterback (Shaun King) that was there, and he ended up being in the same hometown. It was just hard for him.
“I don’t know what the guys up top were thinking, but Coach Tomlin gave me an opportunity if I wanted to. I ended up saying no because, at a young age, I didn’t want to be near home and having distractions around me.”
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Pryor ended up being selected by the Raiders in the third round of the supplemental draft, where he spent two seasons as a backup before becoming a starter. In Pittsburgh, he’d still be entrenched behind Ben Roethlisberger. Pryor's season has produced mixed results, with 1,061 passing yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions. He also leads the team in rushing with 285 yards and a 6.70-yard per-carry average.
