Terrelle Pryor to Chiefs: Latest Contract Details, Analysis and Reaction

Terrelle Pryor signed a one-year contract on Jan. 7 to be a backup quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. On Jan. 20 it was reveled that Tyler Bray's torn ACL led to the signing of Pryor.

Continue for updates.

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Bray's Torn ACL Prompted Pryor Signing 

Tuesday, Jan. 20

Terrelle Pryor was able to land a spot on the Chiefs roster due to a torn ACL from Tyler Bray according to B.J. Kissel of KCChiefs.com:

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Pryor Signs With Chiefs

Wednesday, Jan. 7

The Kansas City Chiefs will hope the third time is the charm for former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor. The Chiefs reportedly came to an agreement with Pryor on a one-year contract Wednesday, giving him a chance to make the roster after sitting out the entire 2014 season. 

ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio broke the news:

Pryor was traded to the Seattle Seahawks last offseason and hoped to latch on as a backup behind Russell Wilson. The Seahawks released him following a preseason that saw him throw for 281 yards and one touchdown against two interceptions.

Workouts with the New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles went nowhere during the regular season, but he hoped to latch onto a team and get in its offseason program.

The Chiefs brought Pryor in for a workout earlier on Wednesday as a quarterback, per Florio. His position has long been a source of debate within football circles. Some view Pryor as the type of unique talent worth building around; he's perhaps the most dynamic running quarterback in football. 

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

But it's that same skill set that helped expedite his departure from the Oakland Raiders and Seattle. Pryor is not a good passer. Far from it. He has a career completion percentage of 56.3, has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns and grades out as below average by nearly every advanced metric.

Football Outsiders' DYAR had Pryor 44th among the 45 quarterbacks who attempted 100 or more passes in 2013, while its DVOA bumped him up to only 43rd.

Pro Football Focus (subscription required) was even more unkind, ranking him last among the 41 signal-callers who took at least a quarter of his team's snaps. He threw an interception once every 7.5 attempts 20 or more yards down the field and really only excelled when under pressure, where he could use his legs to get himself out of trouble.

The issue with players like Pryor is they make for intriguing long-term projects but are impossible to keep as primary backups. While it's possible that a team could mold him into a replacement-level passer—more than good enough to make him an effective starter given his running ability—it's inherently more difficult because his skill set differs from nearly every other quarterback.

Stephen Brashear/Associated Press

Pryor is not a "safe" choice, which is overwhelmingly the player type who lands backup quarterback jobs. Josh McCown's been hanging around since Bart Starr's heyday, yet he's never had trouble finding work because coaches know what to expect. Teams knew he wouldn't come in and single-handedly lose them the game.

The same can't be said for Pryor. He's a high-variance player capable of spectacular plays the McCowns of the world could never think of making and boneheaded mistakes the McCowns would never make. The only way he makes sense as an NFL player is as a third-string developmental project or in a system expressly designed around his talents.

Kansas City will plug him in the former role, where he'll be behind Alex Smith and Chase Daniel on the depth chart. At age 25, it's still possible that Pryor has room to grow. But as he joins his third team within the last calendar year, one has to wonder if he's working on his final NFL shot.   

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.