Browns cut S Calvin Pryor, reportedly after fight with teammate
If you’ve made it this far – with just three days left until the regular-season opener for most teams – you generally have to do something really dumb to lose your spot on the 53-man roster.
Like, maybe, perhaps, fight with a teammate. That could do it.
Calvin Pryor, a former first-round draft pick, was released by the Cleveland Browns on Thursday, reportedly after a pre-practice fight with receiver Ricardo Louis.
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Browns coach Hue Jackson confirmed Pryor’s release to reporters, but said it was due to an “internal matter,” and would not confirm whether there was a fight. Jackson also said there were no plans to release Louis, whom Cleveland drafted in the fourth round last year.
It was already not a great day for the Browns, even before whatever transpired between Pryor and Louis: linebacker Myles Garrett, the No. 1 overall pick, is in a walking boot due to a high ankle sprain and will miss some time; Jackson said that a Browns player “got thrown into the back of his leg.”
Pryor was the 18th overall pick in 2014, taken by the New York Jets. But Pryor’s attitude, coupled with the Jets using their first two picks this season on safeties, led the team to look for suitors, and New York found a trade partner in Cleveland. On June 1, the Jets traded Pryor to the Browns and received linebacker Demario Davis in return.
At just 25 years old and three seasons removed from being a top draft pick, Pryor will be looking for his third NFL team. For the record, he’s played in 44 career games (38 starts), with 190 total tackles, two interceptions and 14 pass break-ups.
