Terrelle Pryor Sr. played down a historic season that saw him eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in his first full season at wide receiver. The former quarterback and Ohio State star still had an overtime loss to the Steelers on his mind Monday.
"Five more yards and we win the game," Pryor said. "That's Important and at the end of the day, that's what it's about."
Pryor, who caught seven passes for 94 yards in Pittsburgh, was referencing a late,49-yard catch that gave Cleveland the ball on the 5-yard line with 1:04 to play. The Browns weren't able to punch in a late touchdown and ultimately fell in the extra period.
In the process, though, Pryor finished as the team's leader in receptions (77), receiving yards (1,007) and receiving touchdowns (four) and became the seventh receiver in Browns history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards.
Perhaps equally as impressive is how Pryor, who switched from quarterback to receiver at the start of last season, emerged as one of Cleveland's top playmakers while still learning the finer points of playing a new position. He also battled past a midseason hamstring injury and finger injury that he'll have operated on this week.
"There's going to be people saying that you can't do this and can't do that throughout life and it's not just sports," he said. "You just gotta live life, I just gotta worry about myself and my craft."
Instead, Pryor said he had "tunnel vision" and leaned on the likes of Joe Thomas, Robert Griffin III, Isaiah Crowell, Cody Kessler and others who played key roles on the Browns offense this year.
"You can do anything if you're focused and you're together with your teammates and your teammates got you back," he said. "I think that's special. It's a group effort, it's a great accomplishment but I couldn't do it without my teammates. We were 1-15, but we were a group of fighters."
Pryor, who is set to become a free agent this offseason, said he'd like to remain in Cleveland with head coach Hue Jackson but added he'll let the process play out behind the scenes.
"I loved playing for him this year, no matter what, despite the 1-15 record. I'm not worried about that. For me, it is progress. We need to make progress," he said.
"Coach, you should have heard him in the team meeting room. He was fiery, upset, but he was also telling us that 'you gave me your all.' He took all the blame. He didn't put any of it on us. We just want to make progress. We all want to win. That is what is important."
He added: "I love this place, I love Cleveland, I love the fans here, it's amazing and just the people in general, just nice people around, walking around, shopping, grocery shopping, whatever. That's important."
Pryor also pointed to Saturday night in Pittsburgh and how Jackson had a pastor address the team before its season finale. He said the man spoke of watching Browns games with his father and "he said this Sunday will be the same, just like any other Sunday."
"And I think that's special, I tell you guys that story because that's kind of the reason why I play this sport but I didn't really recognize how important that is," Pryor said.
"We play this sport for not only ourselves and our selfish reasons, but we're there for other people and other people's happiness. It's special and it really hit my heart … it shows you how special Cleveland is from a sports and football standpoint."
Through the ups and downs, Pryor gave them something to cheer about.
