Joshua Pryor

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

Early life
Pryor was born on October 25, 1999, in Baltimore, Maryland. 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 Bowie State Bulldogs in 2017.

College career
Pryor redshirted 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 (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. 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, 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, 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 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. 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
After going unselected in the 2023 NFL draft, Pryor was signed by the Washington Commanders as an undrafted free agent. He was released during roster cuts August 28. He was signed to the team's practice squad on October 10. He was elevated to the active roster for the Commanders' Week 11 game against the New York Giants. Pryor was signed to the active roster on December 14, 2023, and was waived on May 7, 2024.