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Oakland Raiders trade quarterback Terrelle Pryor to Seattle Seahawks

Some moves make little sense on the surface, but when they're made by a good organization, you shrug and assume they know what they're doing.

That's the case with the Seahawks trading for quarterback Terrelle Pryor, a move first reported by Pro Football Talk. Multiple media reports, including ESPN and NFL Network, said the Seahawks traded a seventh-round pick to Oakland for Pryor.

Pryor, a phenomenal athlete who was one of the most highly touted high school recruits of this century, got a chance to be the Raiders starting quarterback, but eventually was replaced by undrafted rookie Matt McGloin. McGloin wasn't very good, and that's the point when it comes to Pryor. He had a great opportunity and did nothing with it.

Pryor was good in short stretches early in the season. He looked fantastic in a win against the Chargers, who would make the playoffs, in Week 5. But it went south in a hurry. Pryor had seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions, with a 69.1 rating, which was second worst among NFL quarterbacks with enough attempts to qualify. The Raiders made the weird decision to go back to him in Week 17, and he threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns in a blowout loss. It was no secret in recent weeks the Raiders were going to trade or release him.

That is where the Seahawks came in. Seattle built a championship roster making mostly sharp moves. When they traded Matt Flynn to the Raiders, the Seahawks looked smart when Flynn failed miserably. Will they look smart again because they can salvage Pryor?

The Seahawks must see something in Pryor to trade a seventh-round pick even though it was clear the Raiders were going to release him at some point. Pryor will presumably get the chance to back up Russell Wilson, competing with Tarvaris Jackson for the job. Pryor will never be the passer Wilson is, but perhaps in a more stable environment he can improve enough in the passing game and excel with the read-option plays that Seattle uses at times.

Even though Pryor hasn't done much in his NFL career, Seattle thought enough of him to trade for him. It's probably best to trust that the Seahawks' front office has a plan.

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Frank Schwab

is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!