Joshua Zekiah Pryor (born October 25, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Bowie State and was signed by the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2023.

Early life

Pryor was born on October 25, 1999, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. He began playing football at age five. He attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Baltimore and was an unranked recruit. He began his collegiate career with the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

Bowie State Bulldogs The Bowie State Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Bowie State University, located in Bowie, Maryland, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in ...

in 2017.

College career

Pryor

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his first year at Bowie State in 2017, appearing in no games. In 2018, he appeared in 13 games and helped the Bulldogs win the

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (originally and through 1950 known as the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association — CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NC ...

(CIAA) championship in 2018, totaling 55

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, fourth-best on the team, 20 tackles-for-loss, nine sacks, three forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

s, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. 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. In 2019, Pryor helped Bowie State repeat as CIAA champions while posting 12.5 sacks and being named the team defensive

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

, BoxToRow All-American and first-team All-CIAA. He was also selected the Protect Your Skull Division II Defensive Player of the Year. After the 2020 season was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, he was named second-team All-CIAA and helped the Bulldogs win a third-straight conference championship in 2021. In his final season, 2022, Pryor led the Bulldogs with 47 tackles, posted 1.05 tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks, two

pass breakups In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

and two forced fumbles on his way to being named first-team All-CIAA, the CIAA Defensive Player of the Year and second-team

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All-American. 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. He was invited to the HBCU Legacy Bowl and had two sacks in the game. He graduated from Bowie State with a degree in communications.

Professional career

Washington Commanders

After going unselected in the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

, Pryor was signed by the

as an

. He was released during roster cuts August 28. He was signed to the team's

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on October 10. He was elevated to the active roster for the Commanders' Week 11 game against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. Pryor was signed to the active roster on December 14, 2023, and was waived on May 7, 2024.

Cincinnati Bengals

On August 7, 2024, Pryor signed with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. On August 23, Pryor was released by the Bengals.

Birmingham Stallions

On September 19, 2024, Pryor signed with the

Birmingham Stallions The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their ...

of the United Football League (UFL). He was released on March 20, 2025.

References

External links

Bowie State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pryor, Joshua 1999 births Living people American football defensive ends Players of American football from Baltimore Bowie State Bulldogs football players Washington Commanders players Cincinnati Bengals players Birmingham Stallions (2022) players