I'm still hung up on the fact that there are only 53 roster spots in the NFL across 32 teams, and after subtracting 2 x 32 for the kickers and punters (I'm going out on a limb and assuming Pryor can't do either of those) he's not worthy of 1 out of 1,632 roster spots somewhere? Situational wildcat QB and TE/WR on a jump-ball in the back corner of the endzone?
Every team in the NFL is carrying a handful of guys with less value than Pryor. He'd be an insane red zone target.
If you look at how the roster is built, and the 46 players that can be active for each game, then the number of positions decreases significantly.
Here's a link which actually isn't as bad--even though it's Bleacher Report, I know...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1640782-the-anatomy-of-a-53-man-roster-in-the-nfl
So, looking at the 46 active players in a given week...because if you're going to put a "non-standard" roster player on your team, it'd probably be one you'd like to keep active.
2 QBs, 3-4 RBs, 7 OLs, 3 TEs, 5-6 WRs = 21 on offense
14-15 DL/LB (breakdown would depend on 4-3 vs. 3-4 defense), 7-8 DBs = 22 on defense
1 P, 1 K, 1 LS = 3 specialists.
Pryor definitely couldn't be one of the specialists. Defensive players on an active roster are basically a 2-deep depth chart. With all of the nickel/dime and different formations and looks that a defense can run, I think you'd need a 2-deep on the defense to accommodate injuries and have some flexibility in the defensive packages. I don't think Pryor is ready to crack a 2-deep defensively.
I don't think a team would feel comfortable with <7 OLs active (injuries, "big" packages with tackles eligible, special teams, etc.),and Pryor's definitely not an OL (nor has anyone claimed so).
A number of teams don't believe he's good enough to be one of the two active QBs. Not my call on that one--but if he were perceived as one of the top 64 quarterbacks in the league, he'd have a job today, I'd think.
At least 5 WRs also seems like a good idea, as most teams do have a five-wide package. Sometimes one or more of the 5-wides is a RB or TE, so let's cap the WRs at 5 as needed, with a lot of teams wanting a 6th if they could.
Just about every team has at least 3 RBs on each week's active roster, and some players nominally listed as RBs are actually special teams specialists, which could fill the 4th RB position (as could a fullback). However, let's cap it at 3.
3 TEs also seems pretty logical--a lot of 2 TE sets, plus potential for injury.
So, out of the 46 active roster spots, here's what we have that a team would want to fill before potentially considering TP:
2 QBs, 3 RBs, 7 OLs, 3 TEs, 5 WRs = 20 on offense
22 defense for essentially a 2-deep depth chart
3 specialists.
That's 45 slots. That leaves potentially one slot open per team for someone like TP, assuming he doesn't make it as one of the two active QBs on the team. That's 32 potential jobs for TP in the league, not 1,632.
As for the 7 non-active slots each week, I think most teams think of that as (a) the 3rd QB--a position which TP would have right now if any team thought he was qualified or (b) injury depth for the more "standard" positions on the team.
Not saying that there isn't room for TP on an NFL roster--but given how tight roster space is on an NFL active roster (as compared, for instance, vs. college), it's not quite as surprising as I initially thought.
