Joshua Pryor
No. 59 – Washington Commanders
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1999-10-25) October 25, 1999
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:280 lb (127 kg)
Career information
High school:Dunbar (Baltimore)
College:Bowie State (2017–2022)
Undrafted:2023
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2023
Tackles:1
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Joshua Zekiah Pryor (born October 25, 1999) is an American football defensive end for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Bowie State and was signed by the Commanders as an undrafted free agent in 2023.

Early life

Pryor was born on October 25, 1999, in Baltimore, Maryland.[1][2] He began playing football at age five.[3] He attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Baltimore and was an unranked recruit.[4] He began his collegiate career with the NCAA Division II Bowie State Bulldogs in 2017.[5][6]

College career

Pryor redshirted his first year at Bowie State in 2017, appearing in no games.[5][6] In 2018, he appeared in 13 games and helped the Bulldogs win the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championship in 2018, totaling 55 tackles, fourth-best on the team, 20 tackles-for-loss, nine sacks, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick.[5][6][7] For his performance, he was named first-team All-CIAA, the conference rookie of the year and to the CIAA All-Rookie team, additionally being chosen to the BoxToRow All-America team.[6]

In 2019, Pryor helped Bowie State repeat as CIAA champions while posting 12.5 sacks and being named the team defensive most valuable player, BoxToRow All-American and first-team All-CIAA.[7][8][9] He was also selected the Protect Your Skull Division II Defensive Player of the Year.[10] After the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was named second-team All-CIAA and helped the Bulldogs win a third-straight conference championship in 2021.[3][7][11] In his final season, 2022, Pryor led the Bulldogs with 47 tackles, posted 1.05 tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles on his way to being named first-team All-CIAA, the CIAA Defensive Player of the Year and second-team Associated Press All-American.[12][13] He ended his collegiate career as the all-time school leader in sacks (32) and tackles-for-loss (77) and placed second in total tackles (245), additionally four forced fumbles.[12][14][15] He was invited to the HBCU Legacy Bowl and had two sacks in the game.[14][16] He graduated from Bowie State with a degree in communications.[15]

Professional career

After going unselected in the 2023 NFL Draft, Pryor was signed by the Washington Commanders as an undrafted free agent.[17] He was released during roster cuts August 28.[18] He was signed to the team's practice squad on October 10.[19] He was elevated to the active roster for the Commanders' Week 11 game against the New York Giants.[20] Pryor was signed to the active roster on December 14.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Joshua Pryor Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. ↑ "Joshua Pryor". ESPN.
  3. 1 2 Simms, Barry (April 27, 2023). "Baltimore native hopes to be first Bowie State player drafted into NFL". WBAL-TV.
  4. ↑ "Joshua Pryor". 247Sports.
  5. 1 2 3 "Joshua Pryor Stats". FootballDB.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Joshua Pryor Named to Black College Football Player of the Year Award Watch List". Bowie State Bulldogs. August 15, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 Hoffman, Jared (April 10, 2023). "Bowie State All-CIAA lineman Joshua Pryor invited to an NFL Pro Day". HBCU Sports.
  8. ↑ "10 CIAA Football Standouts Earn BOXTOROW All-American Honors". Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. December 11, 2019.
  9. ↑ "CIAA Announces 2019 Football All-Conference and Superlatives". Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. November 11, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Joshua Pryor". Bowie State Bulldogs.
  11. ↑ "CIAA Announces 2021 Football All-Conference Teams and Superlatives". Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. November 10, 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Pryor Named CIAA Defensive Player of the Year; Eight Bulldogs Named to 2022 All-CIAA Football Team". Bowie State Bulldogs. November 11, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Brown named AP All-America; earns second national award". IUP Crimson Hawks. December 14, 2022.
  14. 1 2 Mosley, Kyle T. (April 27, 2023). "Joshua Pryor: The 'Underdog' Is Ready To Challenge The NFL's Big Dogs". Sports Illustrated.
  15. 1 2 Saxon, Jonathan (April 2023). "Bowie State Defensive Lineman Considered Top Prospect To Be NFL Draft Pick". Bowie State University.
  16. ↑ Abraham, Scott (April 19, 2023). "Joshua Pryor looking to become first Bowie State player to be selected in the NFL Draft". WJLA-TV.
  17. ↑ Flumm, Alex (April 29, 2023). "Bowie State standout Josh Pryor signs deal with Commanders". WDCW.
  18. ↑ Fortier, Sam; Jhabvala, Nicki (August 28, 2023). "The Commanders made their first batch of roster cuts. Here's who's out". The Washington Post.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ Selby, Zach (October 10, 2023). "Commanders place Darrick Forrest, Jeremy Reaves on IR among multiple roster moves". Washington Commanders.
  20. ↑ Selby, Zach (November 18, 2023). "Commanders elevate RB Derrick Gore, DE Joshua Pryor from practice squad". Washington Commanders.
  21. ↑ Manning, Bryan. "Commanders place LB Jamin Davis on season-ending IR". Commanders Wire. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
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