Redskins' Norman lauds Darnold after joint practices; WR Pryor in hot water

Through three days of joint practice sessions, Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman has been very impressed by New York Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold, despite initial reluctance to give the No. 3 overall pick credit.

"Someone asked me about him the other day, and I was like, yeah, whatever, he's just a guy," Norman told reporters Tuesday. "Then you go out here and see him making these throws and you're like, all right. That's not so much a college-level throw. He's putting them on the money."

Darnold has worked regularly against Washington's starting defense during this week's practices, and Norman said he's tried a few veteran tricks against the 21-year-old, to no avail. Norman also compared Darnold to two young quarterbacks recently drafted by NFC East rivals that blossomed early in the NFL.

"It's like, dang," Norman said. "You get rookies in here, and you try to mess them with a little bit and bait them a little bit into thinking they're throwing a route, and you can make a play and he's not having it. It's so crazy to see that at an early age. Dak has that; Carson has that.

"So it's like, man, they must come in here not wanting to screw it up, and he's so far impressed me and I didn't want him to. I wanted to break all rookies. He's been doing a great job."

Darnold was the third quarterback to play in Friday's preseason opener behind incumbent starter Josh McCown and free agent signee Teddy Bridgewater, but he's earned reps with the starters in practice and is being given the chance to win the starting job. Darnold went 13-for-18 for 96 yards and a touchdown while playing the whole second half against the Atlanta Falcons, as the Jets ran the ball often to close out a 17-0 win.

Elsewhere in joint practices, Jets wideout Terrelle Pryor drew the ire of both head coach Todd Bowles and several former Redskins teammates for a variety of reasons.

After Pryor volunteered details about his health to reporters Monday -- saying he had a fractured ankle that required surgery in May, and adding he'll sit out Thursday's game against Washington due to a minor hip injury -- Bowles had harsh words for Pryor on Tuesday.

"Terrelle doesn't need to be descriptive," Bowles told reporters. "I feel that he should keep his mouth shut and leave the injuries to me."

When asked if Pryor was fined by the team for his comments, Bowles did not confirm or deny.

"We had a conversation," Bowles said. "We'll only discuss our in-house things in-house."

Meanwhile, Pryor was the subject of harsh words during practice as well, as several of his former Washington teammates repeatedly criticized and taunted him.

The most notable example came after Redskins safety D.J. Swearinger yelled the word "garbage" toward Pryor after the wideout dropped a potential touchdown. Pryor jawed back, and then Swearinger approached him and feigned a punch, causing Pryor to flinch and several Redskins defenders to cheer and laugh.

Swearinger told reporters after practice that Pryor "sparked" the beef with some comments in an interview earlier this week, adding that Washington's secondary chose to show him less respect in 1-on-1 drills by covering him with a safety instead of a cornerback.

Pryor, who tweeted a video Tuesday morning of himself making a one-handed catch against the Redskins during an earlier practice, declined to speak to reporters after Tuesday's session, saying, "I'm ready to get them out of here."

A former quarterback, Pryor signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Redskins in March of 2016 but managed just 20 catches for 240 yards and a touchdown in nine games last season after posting a 77-1,007-4 line in 2016 with the Cleveland Browns.

He joined the Jets on a one-year, $4 million deal this offseason, although only $1 million is guaranteed. He's listed with the second team on New York's depth chart but is not considered a lock to make the roster.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)