The NFL declared former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor eligible for the supplemental draft Thursday but ruled that he will not be able to play in the first five games of the 2011 season after he signs a contract.

The league announced Pryor was eligible in a memo sent to its 32 teams Thursday. The 2011 supplemental draft, which originally was scheduled for Aug. 17, will take place Monday.

Pryor likely will file an appeal after he signs an NFL contract, according to his lawyer.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said Pryor can file the appeal within three days of signing a deal, attorney David Cornwell said Friday on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike in the Morning."

Cornwell said that as part of the likely appeal, the NFLPA would put its objections to the suspension on the record.

An NFLPA source had told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter the players' union recommended Pryor fight the suspension but that Cornwell and Drew Rosenhaus, Pryor's agent, believed it was a losing battle and that Pryor should accept the NFL's punishment and move on.

However, a source close to Pryor told ESPN's Joe Schad: "There is a cooperative environment between the NFL and NCAA. But there should be concern that the NFL would become an enforcement arm of the NCAA."

The source also expressed concern that this decision could set a precedent that would enable the NFL to suspend and/or fine future incoming rookies based on NCAA violations.

The NFL said that Pryor can play in preseason games after he is drafted and signs, but he is not eligible to practice with his new team or play in a game until Week 6 of the season. Pryor will be allowed at his new team's training facility for meetings and to work with coaches during the time he is ineligible, however.

"Pryor made decisions that undermine the integrity of the eligibility rules for the NFL draft," the league said Thursday. "Those actions included failing to cooperate with the NCAA and hiring an agent in violation of NCAA rules, which resulted in Ohio State declaring him ineligible to continue playing college football.

"Pryor then applied to enter the NFL after the regular draft. Pryor had accepted at the end of the 2010 college football season a suspension for the first five games of the 2011 season for violating NCAA rules. Pryor will be ineligible to practice prior to or play in the first five games of the NFL regular season after he signs."

Goodell informed NCAA president Mark Emmert about his decision, the NCAA said in a statement. The NFL said they considered this ruling "specific" to the Pryor case. Ohio State declined to comment when asked if the school was consulted by the NFL.

Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, a member of the NFLPA executive committee, said NFL players "are concerned about the message this sends."