Jun 22, 2015 6 min read

Terrelle Pryor believes he can be an NFL wide receiver. The Browns are giving him a chance to catch on with them.

Pryor, who has made 10 pro starts at quarterback, was awarded on waivers to Cleveland on Monday and the Browns intend to give him a shot at making their roster as a wideout.

The former Ohio State star recently announced his intentions to switch positions to prolong a career that appeared to be headed toward a finish.

In Cleveland, Pryor will be reunited with Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. The pair spent the 2013 season together with the Raiders with Pryor making nine starts at QB.

Pryor has one career catch for 22 yards in the NFL, but the 6-foot-4, 233-pounder is a superb athlete and might be able to make the transition to wide receiver.

The Browns lack depth at wide receiver and are lacking a big-play threat because former Pro Bowler Josh Gordon is serving a one-year suspension for multiple failed drug tests.

To make room for Pryor, the Browns waived defensive back Landon Feichter.

As a quarterback, Pryor completed 170 of 302 passes for 1,953 yards with nine touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also had 627 yards rushing. Pryor spent training camp in 2014 with Seattle and spent parts of the 2015 offseason with Kansas City and Cincinnati.

Originally drafted by Oakland in the third round of the 2011 supplemental draft, Pryor went 31-4 as a three-year starter for the Buckeyes.

The Browns have reached their registration capacity of 60,000 free tickets for their scrimmage at Ohio State Aug. 7. The team and school capped the capacity in 100,000-seat plus Ohio Stadium to “ensure an optimal fan experience.”

LeBeau, Moore among those honored: Hall of Fame coach Dick LeBeau, and Tom Moore and Dante Scarnecchia have won the Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman Award from the Professional Football Writers of America.

The award is given for lifetime achievement as an assistant coach in the NFL and named for Zimmerman, who covered the NFL for 29 years.

LeBeau, in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his playing career as a defensive back, is among the most accomplished defensive coordinators in league history. Now with Tennessee, he’s in his 43rd season as an NFL coach and is considered the originator of the zone blitz.

Moore, now with Arizona, is in his 37th NFL season. He has served as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and is best known for his work with Peyton Manning in Indianapolis.

Dante Scarnecchia spent 32 seasons as an NFL assistant coach, 30 with the Patriots, before retiring. His specialty was the offensive line, and he won three Super Bowls.

Panthers donate to Charleston families: Jerry Richardson, the owner of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, has donated $100,000 to the families of the Charleston shooting to help cover burial costs of the victims.

Richardson sent a letter to the Mother Emanuel Hope Fund dated Friday along with a check for $100,000.

Richardson asks in the letter that $10,000 go to each of the nine families of the victims and $10,000 for a memorial at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church honoring the memory of those killed in the shooting on Wednesday.

Bakari Sellers, a Democratic member of the S.C. House, tweeted a photo of Richardson’s letter on Saturday morning. Richardson mentions the victims by name in the letter and writes “our hearts are with those who grieve the loss of these individuals.”

Panthers spokesman Steve Drummond confirmed Richardson’s donation.

Lions add safety: The Detroit Lions signed free agent safety Taylor Mays.

The team announced the move Monday. Mays is entering his sixth NFL season after stints with San Francisco in 2010 and Cincinnati from 2011-14. He played in all 16 games for the Bengals last season, primarily as a special teams contributor.

Mays was a second-round pick in the 2010 draft by San Francisco. He played college football at Southern California.

Saints see Spiller in multiple roles: New Orleans Saints running back C.J. Spiller spent much of his youth on baseball diamonds, where coaches sought to take advantage of his quick first step, range and sure hands by playing him at shortstop and center field.

“I kind of credit my pass-catching ability to going from catching a baseball to a football,” Spiller said during Saints minicamp this week.

“It’s a whole lot easier, so I take great pride in it. Any time I drop a ball, I’m very hard on myself because I know the work that I put in trying to make sure I catch every one.”

The offseason practices the Saints have held since acquiring Spiller in free agency have shown that coach Sean Payton is eager to see how he can take advantage of the former Buffalo Bills running back’s speed and good hands.

“One thing you can see with football players, you can see who probably did not play baseball,” Payton said, smiling as he referred to a recent practice drill in which he asked linemen to catch punts. “I kind of have a feeling that when C.J. was running track and field, playing baseball, basketball, he probably did all of those things real well. That’s my guess.”

Payton’s high-powered offenses have usually featured at least one running back whose combination of speed, hands and elusiveness made them considerable receiving threats out of the backfield.

Reggie Bush was part of Payton’s Super Bowl champion squad in 2009. Darren Sproles was a central figure in the Saints’ 2011 offense that piled up an NFL-record 7,474 yards.

Spiller was well aware of Bush’s and Sproles’ success in New Orleans when he chose to leave Buffalo for the Big Easy.

“Obviously, I’ve kept a close eye on this offense, dating back to Reggie, being friends with him, and then obviously knowing Darren Sproles, watching him, so I know what type of offense it is,” Spiller said.

“Coach Payton’s track record speaks for itself. He uses guys with our type of skill set. So to me, it’s very friendly because you can be running the ball and then if you’re blessed enough to have great pass catching abilities they’re going to find ways to try to get you the ball in space.”

Payton indicated that he is experimenting with plays specifically with Spiller in mind.

“When you sign a player like that … you are anxious to see how it fits with what you are doing and you begin to expand some things,” Payton said.