A former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys is joining the Philadelphia Eagles.
On Saturday, March 23, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Eagles are signing Will Grier, a former backup quarterback for the Cowboys. After playing for Dallas for two seasons (2021–2022), the 28-year-old Grier was cut before the 2023 season began because Trey Lance was acquired through trade.
“Eagles are signing former Cowboys and Patriots QB Will Grier to a one-year deal, per sources,” Schefter wrote. “In the past week, the Eagles now have added QBs Kenny Pickett and Grier.”
During his NFL career, Will Grier was a journeyman backup quarterback.
With the addition of Grier, the Eagles now have four quarterbacks on their roster, including Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, who was recently acquired, and Kenny Pickett.
In 2023, Grier signed a contract with the New England Patriots after being cut by the Cowboys. He didn’t, however, show up in any games. Prior to the 2023 season’s finish, he also played for the Los Angeles Chargers as a result of Justin Herbert’s season-ending injury.
Grier was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. In actuality, his first season was his final one in which he saw game action. Grier started two games, but lost both of them. He had a 53.8% completion percentage, a 33.2 passer rating, and zero touchdowns versus four interceptions.
Once a highly touted quarterback in both high school and college, Will Grier
Before enrolling at the University of Florida in 2014, Grier was a highly anticipated quarterback, despite spending the first five seasons of his career as a journeyman backup quarterback. Counted among the class’s top dual-threat quarterbacks, he had numerous offers from major universities, such as Auburn, Arkansas, and Tennessee.
In fact, Grier was so good in high school that he was named the Parade National High School Player of the Year after he threw for 4,989 yards passing and a record-breaking 77 touchdowns with 1,251 yards after rushing.
He never did, however, establish himself as the Gators’ full-time starter, and after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance, he eventually moved from Florida to West Virginia.
Via Lance Zierlein of NFL.com:
“He was suspended, however, for a year by the NCAA in October 2015, for taking a prohibited performance-enhancing supplement,” writes Zierlein. “While finishing out the suspension in 2016, Grier practiced with the Gators but wound up not playing at all during the year. Feeling unwanted by Florida coaches, he decided to transfer to West Virginia. Grier excelled in his first year with the Mountaineers, earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors and ranking fifth in the FBS in passing efficiency, eighth with 34 passing TDs, and eighth with 317.3 passing yards per game (3,490 total).”
Grier didn’t exactly enter the NFL with great expectations, but he did succeed after transferring to West Virginia, where he was voted Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year in 2017 and placed fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2018. In fact, Grier’s prospect grade of 5.9, which is the average for a backup, was lower than Zierlein’s projection of a fourth-round pick.
“His lack of plus arm talent and release quickness might not match his gunslinger mentality against an NFL secondary,” wrote Zierlein of Grier in his scouting report back in 2019. “Grier will have to win from the pocket, which means working the middle of the field with better anticipation and getting rid of the ball much sooner.”
Grier will have a chance to prove himself on the Eagles’ roster, but given the players he will be up against in the depth chart, it won’t be easy.