The NFL announced today that former Ohio State quarterback Terrell Pryor is eligible for the Supplemental Draft, which was scheduled for yesterday and has been rescheduled for Monday. Pryor won’t be strolling into the league without restrictions, however. In announcing his eligibility, the league said Pryor — who left OSU after three years, facing a five-game suspension in 2011 for trading memorabilia for tattoos and other considerations — will not be eligible to practice with his team or play in a game until Week 6. In a strong-armed message, the NFL has taken the NCAA’s five-game suspension and imposed it on Pryor in his new profession, a clear punishment for what took place at OSU, where head coach Jim Tressel lost his job for not divulging some of the infractions that Pryor and other players committed on his watch.
In a press release, the league said, “Pryor made decisions that undermine the integrity of the eligibility rules for the NFL Draft. Those actions included failing to cooperate with the NCAA and hiring an agent in violation of NCAA rules, which resulted in Ohio State declaring him ineligible to continue playing college football.
“Pryor then applied to enter the NFL after the regular draft. Pryor had accepted at the end of the 2010 college football season a suspension for the first five games of the 2011 season for violating NCAA rules. Pryor will be ineligible to practice prior to or play in the first five games of the NFL regular season after he signs.”
Five other players are eligible for Monday’s draft: former Northern Illinois safety Tracy Wilson, former Georgia running back Caleb King, former Western Carolina cornerback Torez Jones, former Lindenwood University defensive end Keenan Mace, and former North Carolina defensive end Michael McAdoo.