Terrelle Pryor Cements Starting Job In Oakland, Raiders Cut Matt Flynn

Terrelle Pryor is the man in Oakland.

In fact, the Raiders are so confident in their No. 1 quarterback that they just released Matt Flynn, the once heralded player who lost out to Pryor in the preseason.

The Raiders drafted Terrelle Pryor in the 2011 supplemental draft, giving up a third-round pick to secure the mobile and strong-armed quarterback. He clearly outshined Flynn during this preseason, scoring 32 points on 14 drives compared to Flynn’s 10 points on 13 drives. Flynn also had the advantage of playing with the Raiders first team for much of the preseason, while Pryor was forced to work with the backups.

Matt Flynn has failed to live up to the expectations he set in his only start in the NFL. In 2011, he came in for Aaron Rodgers after the Green Bay Packers had secured playoff position, throwing for 480 yards and six touchdowns on 31-of-44 passing.

This led to a contract with the Seattle Seahawks, but Flynn was beaten out by Russell Wilson, then a largely unheralded rookie.

On Sunday night Pryor led the Raiders to a 27-17 win over their conference rival San Diego Chargers.

Pryor threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter and then set up a late field goal by turning a potential sack into a third-and-long conversion that gave the Raiders a 27-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday night. While he had two first-quarter touchdown passes and 221 yards passing overall, it was actually Pryor’s ability to turn a broken play into a success that keyed the victory.

On the play he was able to avoid a sack and converted a third-and-long, leading the Raiders to a field goal and a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“That’s what the kid brings to us,” coach Dennis Allen said. “Terrelle brings that ability when things aren’t right, when things break down, he brings that ability to make plays.”

Terrelle Pryor has led the team to a 2-3 record this season.