NFL Cuts: Oakland Raiders Signal Faith in Terrelle Pryor, Cut Trent Edwards

Given their struggles at the quarterback position in recent years, you would think that the Oakland Raiders would make sure they were well stocked with quarterbacks before embarking on their 2011 season.

Instead, the team cut loose Trent Edwards, leaving them with just Jason Campbell and Kyle Boller. Fools!

Well, at least for the first five games of the regular season. After that, the Raiders will get reinforcement in the person of rookie quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

You may have heard of Pryor. Suffice it to say he's the guy who starred at Ohio State, scuttled the program with his role in a memorabilia scandal and then bolted for the greener pastures of the NFL. The Raiders got him by bidding a third-round pick in the supplemental draft.

Pryor's entry into the NFL came with a catch: He will be suspended for the first five games of the season, the same penalty he would have served had he stayed at Ohio State.

But despite the fact the Raiders won't have Pryor on the sidelines until Week 6, they just made it abundantly clear what they think of him.

In so many words, they think Pryor is ready to step in and play in the event of a catastrophe.

The good news, depending on your point of view, is that it will probably take a catastrophe for Pryor to set foot on the field this year. Campbell is the unquestioned starter, and Boller is pretty solid for a backup. The odds of Pryor elevating himself over one or both of them on the depth chart are slim to none.

Nevertheless, this is the NFL we're talking about. Injuries happen, and it often seems like the slightest breeze can knock a quarterback out of a game. That means a gusty day has the potential to whittle Oakland's quarterback depth chart down to Pryor.

If the Raiders want to avoid this, there's still plenty of time for them to sign a third quarterback. But until they do, it appears they're perfectly willing to lean on Pryor, should it come to that.

Once again, it probably won't. If it doesn't, this will all be much ado about nothing.

If it does, I suspect I will be calling the Raiders fools once again.