When Oakland Raiders fans see a player wearing the No. 2 jersey, they don’t think of Terrelle Pryor. Instead, the Raiders’ most loyal base think of former number 1 overall draft pick JaMarcus Russell and his failed time with the franchise.
That’s why on Thursday fans were shocked to see Pryor walk out onto the field in the number 2 jersey instead of his former number 6.
Pryor wasn’t attempting to stir the pot; he simply wanted to don the same number he wore as a player at Ohio State.
When Pryor walked out onto the field with his new jersey, quarterback Matt Flynn told CSN Bay Area: “I had to do a double take. Not only was it a new number, the jersey looked a little big on him.”
Flynn spent time playing with Russell at LSU, and, when Pryor joined the team, he was denied the number by then head coach Hue Jackson.
When he was first denied the No. 2 jersey, Prior said he didn’t know why he was banned from the jersey.
Who else wore 2? Just can’t remember RT @CorkOnTheNFL : Terrelle Pryor wearing No. 2 for the first time (with) Raiders pic.twitter.com/r0YcEsPCTZ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 21, 2013
In a game full of superstitions and tradition, we often don’t see players take on “cursed” jersey numbers. In this case, Pryor stands behind Matt Flynn, so perhaps he’s the perfect player to break the number back into rotation.
In the meantime, JaMarcus Russell is still attempting to win over coaches and fans in the NFL in the hopes that he can make a comeback.
Recently the Raiders paid Russell another $3 million that was still owed, a fact that probably didn’t sit well with Raiders fans.
Do you think Terrelle Pryor made the right decision in taking over Jamarcus Russell’s prior jersey number?