The Browns have acquired safety Calvin Pryor from the New York Jets.
Here are five things to know about the former first-round NFL Draft pick and newest member of Cleveland's secondary.
- Pryor, the 18th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, started 38 games — including 15 last season — of 44 career games over three years in New York. In that span, the former Louisville standout and Port St. Lucie, Florida, native made 184 tackles, two interceptions, and 14 pass breakups. Last season, he totaled 60 tackles, six passes defensed and one forced fumble before the Jets declined to pick up his fifth-year option and drafted two safeties — Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye — this past spring.
- Pryor joins a safeties group that includes 2017 first-round draft pick Jabrill Peppers, Ed Reynolds II, Derrick Kindred, Tyvis Powell and, potentially, versatile veteran Jason McCourty, whose role in Cleveland remains unclear after eight seasons at cornerback in Tennessee. At the very least, the Browns have built depth at the position that they didn't have last season as injuries and other dynamics saw the back end struggle at times.
- Leading up to the 2014 draft, Pryor was thought to be one of the best players available according to his NFL.com draft profile, which declared him as"perhaps the most explosive hitter in this year's crop of safeties" and a "big, physical hammer in the run game, bringing the ability to intimidate and erase."
- Pryor, whose hard-hitting style should fit well under Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, outlined why he enjoys playing safety to NewYorkJets.com last season. "I was born to play football. When I line up out there on that field, I feel like it's my sanctuary. That's where I let it all out,"he told the team’s site. "It's a great position to play because sometimes you can be like a linebacker that's free."
- At just 24 years old, Pryor is poised to become part of what executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown has described as a "core nucleus of young talent." Entering his fourth season, though, Pryor also stands to add something of another veteran presence on one of the league's youngest teams.
