Veteran Backup QB Will Grier Retiring

Growing up in Davidson, North Carolina, about 20 miles north of Charlotte, Grier took a roundabout path to end up with his local NFL club. As a top 100 recruit in the Class of 2014, Grier committed initially to Florida after leading the nation with a ridiculous 77 touchdowns in his senior year, a North Carolina record. After redshirting, Grier competed with Treon Harris for the Gators’ starting job in 2015. Though Harris started Week 1, a blowout game allowed Grier to get in the game, and he went on to start the five games for Florida.

After his sixth game with the team, though, Grier was given a one-year suspension because he tested positive for drug that he was not aware was banned as a performance-enhancing drug. He appealed to the NCAA, admitting that he failed to follow protocol by running the drug past the school’s training staff, but his suspension was upheld. At the end of the season, Grier opted to hit the transfer portal and landed in Morgantown.

Grier came out of his suspension as the Mountaineers’ starting quarterback and held the role for a second season before declaring for the draft. In 22 games at West Virginia, Grier completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 7,354 yards, 71 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions. A strong senior campaign saw him finish fourth in Heisman voting behind the late Dwayne Haskins, Tua Tagovailoa, and the award’s winner, Kyler Murray.

Grier was drafted by the Panthers in the third round at No. 100 overall. As a rookie, he served as the third-string passer behind Cam Newton and backup Kyle Allen. Newton missed all but two games with a Lisfranc fracture, and with the team sitting at 5-9 with two weeks left in the season, Carolina opted to start Grier for the final two weeks of the season. In his NFL debut, Grier completed 27 of 44 pass attempts for 224 yards and three interceptions. In the season finale, he started off one for eight with an interception before exiting with an injury in the second quarter.

Those first two games would end up being the last of his career. Grier failed to make the Panthers’ initial 53-man roster the next season, but was claimed off waivers by the Cowboys. In Dallas, he served as the third quarterback behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush for two years. In 2023, the Cowboys acquired Trey Lance as their QB3 just before final roster cuts. Grier was the odd man out but rebounded quickly, signing to the Bengals’ practice squad.

The Patriots signed him off Cincinnati’s taxi squad shortly into the regular season. He was eventually placed on New England’s p-squad until the Chargers signed him away to their active roster to back up Easton Stick after a Justin Herbert injury. Grier signed with the Eagles in 2024 but, after his release in November, landed back with the Cowboys. He stayed in Dallas through the end of the 2025 season and considered hanging his cleats up in exchange for a whistle before signing a new deal with the team that drafted him. With his playing career now coming to a close, a turn to coaching might still be in the cards as Grier moves on.