Pryor draft conditions
TERRELLE PRYOR will have an opportunity to pursue his NFL dreams, with one significant caveat: The former Ohio State quarterback must still pay for breaking NCAA rules while he was in college.
TERRELLE PRYOR will have an opportunity to pursue his NFL dreams, with one significant caveat: The former Ohio State quarterback must still pay for breaking NCAA rules while he was in college.
The league announced yesterday that Pryor is eligible for Monday's supplemental draft, but won't be allowed to practice for the team that selects him until Week 6. Pryor gave up his final season with the Buckeyes following an investigation into the team's memorabilia-for-cash scandal. He would've had to sit out five games had he chosen to return to Ohio State.
"We accept that voluntarily," Pryor's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said. "It's a small price to pay for him to have a chance to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL."
Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith worked together on the decision, Rosenhaus said. The league hopes it will dissuade future college players who run afoul of the NCAA from trying to use the NFL as a means of escaping punishment.
Pryor will have a pro day tomorrow in Pittsburgh for all 32 NFL teams.
Noteworthy *
Former St. Louis coach Dick Vermeil, famous for his tough training camps, said his Rams would not have won the Super Bowl in 1999 under the new, limited practice rules of the NFL.
Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the mandatory veteran reporting date is no earlier than 15 days before the first preseason game. The first day is limited to physicals and meetings, and the second and third day workouts have no pads or contact.
* New York Jets running back Shonn Greene has a "low-grade skin infection" on his right foot and will not play in the team's preseason game against Cincinnati on Sunday night.
In other news, former Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand, who is recovering from a spinal injury that left his paralyzed from the neck down, was a guest at the Jets' camp. At one point, LeGrand, who is in a motorized wheelchair, was invited into the huddle and presented with a green No. 52 Jets jersey - his old number at Rutgers - with his name sewn across the back.
* Denver defensive tackle Ty Warren will have surgery Tuesday to repair his partially torn right triceps, which he injured in practice Monday. Coach John Fox said he's hoping Warren can return in November. Warren was cut by New England last month and signed a 2-year, $8 million deal with the Broncos 2 weeks ago.
* Prosecutors say a lawyer for Albert Haynesworth has repeatedly offered money to a waitress who alleges the NFL defensive lineman sexually abused her to try to enlist her help in getting the case dismissed. Prosecutors said in a filing that on "numerous occasions" Haynesworth's lawyer, A. Scott Bolden, approached the waitress' attorney offering money. Bolden denies he offered the money.