Who Gets Terrelle Pryor Next?

He's still got eligibility, but - fuck that. There's always the possibility of the CFL, or even the struggling UFL ( if he wants to spend a year with NFL-quality coaching, which isn't a bad idea.) But most likely Terrelle Pryor wants to get the hell out of dodge and go right to the NFL. He stuck around to protect the man who was protecting him, and now that that commitment is gone, it's supplemental draft time. His "spokesman" said as much. But what the hell happens in a supplemental draft? No one knows. Actually, no, it's pretty simple, but we only care about it on rare occasions like these.

So which team will draft Terrelle Pryor? The short answer is: whoever wants him badly enough.

Eliminate the teams that don't need a quarterback. (Probably. Pryor's one of those guys whose size and speed cause some personnel departments to project them at other positions, even though that never works out.) Everyone else has the option of "bidding" on Pryor. It's a secret bid, where no one knows what the other teams are offering. And the teams are bidding with, essentially, their 2012 draft picks.

For example, last year the Bears bid a 7th round pick on Harvey Unga, and since that was the highest any team told they league they would select him, they won his rights. In last month's draft, the Bears forfeited their 7th round pick. So if someone wants Pryor, they're going to have to decide what they're willing to give up next spring.

In a normal draft, Pryor projects as a mid-round pick. But because any teams looking for a bargain won't know how high the other bidders are willing to go, the uncertainty will drive the final price up. Sometimes it works out (Cris Carter), sometimes it doesn't (The Boz).

And don't expect the Panthers to run an A-11 with two QBs, because they don't receive the first shot just because they had the worst record last year. The tiebreaking order on bids is weighted by records, but with an element of randomness. The Panthers have the same odds at getting first crack as the 12 other teams with six or fewer wins in 2010.

Of course this is all dependent on the NFL even having a season. They're planning on still holding a supplemental draft whether the lockout is on or off, but the rules on signing bonuses may be up in the air. And if we know Terrelle Pryor, we know he's about getting paid now, not later.