Pryor ‘nervous’ over first Raiders start

The Oakland Raiders’ disappointing season might not be headed toward a playoff berth, but that hasn’t stopped them from churning out entertaining news.

This week’s starting quarterback saga has been no exception.

Raiders head coach Dennis Allen announced Friday that second-year QB Terrelle Pryor will get the start Sunday in San Diego versus the Chargers:

“He’ll play in the game and we’ll see how the game goes. He’s the starter, and we’re going to go into it as we would any other game.”

SFGate reported Allen sat both Pryor and quarterback Matt Leinart down earlier this week and told the two that he was more partial to Pryor getting the start. The 2004 Heisman Trophy winner, reportedly, didn’t take the news well:

“I wanted to see how each player responded. I thought Terrelle responded well.”

(And I’ve personally never been much of a Leinart fan, but that’s a whole other story.)

The weight of choosing a starter for Sunday has been looming since Carson Palmer suffered broken ribs and a bruised lung in last week’s loss to the Carolina Panthers. CSNBayArea.com’s Nate Stuhlbarg reports Palmer stood on the sidelines Friday, observing practice for the first time since the injury.

Both Pryor and Leinart took an equal number of reps prior to the announcement this afternoon.

Pryor has had very little playing time since being drafted by Oakland in the third round of the 2011 supplemental draft. He was the starting quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he was later banned in 2011 for making money off school memorabilia.

So how does it feel for a young quarterback who overcame scandal to finally get the start? Pryor told CSNBayArea:

“I’m ready. I felt in command in the huddle this week. Am I nervous? Yeah, I’m nervous.”