After Whirlwind 24 Hours, Kendric Pryor Hopes To Bring a Spark to Jaguars’ Offense
When noon rolled around on Wednesday, Kendric Pryor a Cincinnati Bengal, seconds away from joining the practice squad and sticking with the team that had just waived him a day earlier.
Fast forward 24 hours, and Pryor was in the middle of his first practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who claimed Pryor on the waiver wire after the undrafted free agent was waived by the Bengals.
Pryor then traveled from Ohio to Florida, quickly taking his physical and before stepping onto the field with the rest of his new team on Thursday afternoon.
"It's been crazy like you said, I was literally walking into the team room going to sign for the practice squad and when I walked in, he was like "Oh yeah, you just got picked up by Jacksonville,' Pryor told Jaguar Report on Thursday following practice. "So it's been crazy. Definitely blessed for this opportunity. Thankful that the Jaguars took a chance on me."
The Jaguars made Pryor their sixth wide receiver after the Wisconsin rookie flashed throughout the preseason and training camp. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor joked on Wednesday about the Jaguars and his brother Press, the Jaguars' offensive coordinator claiming Pryor after he consistently made plays for the Bengals.
For Pryor, it was a departure from a team where he spent the last several months building bonds, learning the offense and making plays. But it was also a chance to make an impact on a team that sees him as one of its 53 best.
"Ready to come down here and do the same thing, just keep stacking days and just help out the team any way they need," Pryor said.
"It meant a lot. I know personally what I could do. I just knew that I just needed somebody to take the chance and the Bengals were the team that took that chance at the end of the draft. And then I got the opportunity to show the world in the preseason I can go out there and make some plays and help the team. I feel like I put a good tape on for myself and I guess Jacksonville liked what I put on film, so like I said, grateful for this opportunity and just thankful that they gave me a shot."
Pryor shined for the Bengals this preseason, catching 13 passes for 182 yards (14.0 yards per catch) and one touchdown, consistently making plays at each level of the field. After the Jaguars released Laquon Treadwell and traded Laviska Shenault, the play-making Pryor became an obvious solution for the Jaguars thanks to his versatility and special teams ability.
Pryor was consistently a spark for the Bengals this summer. Now, he is ready to be the same level of impact player in Jacksonville, a team that is badly in need of offensive playmakers a year after struggling in all areas on offense.
"A spark player," Pryor said when asked to describe the type of player he is. "Somebody that's gonna come in whether offense could be going good and I could just extend that and be a part of that, or if things aren't going good go in there and make that one play you know, get the juices flowing, get everybody going. And just a competitive, athletic playmaker."
Pryor's mindset entering his rookie year is simple. If the quarterback is going to throw it to him, he is going to catch it. For a Jaguars team that consistently struggled with drops and consistency from its final receiver spot a year ago, Pryor gives the Jaguars a young option whose main focus is to be anything but inconsistent.
"I feel like that's just a positive mindset, not trying to sound cocky or anything just part of the mindset is if they throw it to me, it should be my ball or no one's ball, but preferably my ball," Pryor said.
"So I think that's the type of player Jacksonsivlle is getting. Like I said, grateful and blessed that they took this opportunity. I am ready to just show the world what I can do."
A big part of Pryor's journey in Jacksonville will of course be his chemistry with quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Pryor spent the last several months around star Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, giving him the rare chance to catch passes from two No. 1 overall picks and two of the best college quarterbacks in recent memory.
"Two great quarterbacks going from Joe to Trevor," Pryor said.
So just getting in here, trying to work on chemistry with him. Just give Trevor that confidence that I was giving Joe that I can go make plays and then just kind of just keep building off that you know, just get the offense down and just you know, working our way in."
