Veteran Backup QB Will Grier Retiring
About three months ago, the Panthers brought back a familiar face in longtime backup quarterback Will Grier. Since leaving the team that drafted him six years ago, Grier has spent a little bit of time in quite a few places, though most of his time was spent in Dallas. After initially choosing to return to his hometown team, Grier has opted for a different path, choosing, now, to retire.
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 result allowed Grier to get in the game, and he went on to start the next five games for Florida.
After his sixth game with the team, though, Grier was given a one-year suspension after testing positive for a 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 in not 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 passing 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.
QB Will Grier Considered Position On Cowboys’ Coaching Staff Prior To Panthers Signing
Will Grier‘s football journey continued in 2026 with a return to the Panthers being worked out. The veteran quarterback is set to handle No. 3 duties with his original team as a result.
Prior to deciding on his latest playing contract, though, Grier received the opportunity to begin his coaching career. The Cowboys offered the 31-year-old a spot on Brian Schottenheimer‘s staff following the 2025 season (which was spent on Dallas’ practice squad). As recalled by Grier’s father Chad, Will nearly accepted the offer.
“Man, there’s not a huge chance you’re gonna play [in Carolina] this year,” Chad Grier said (via The Athletic’s Joe Person). “But there’s zero chance you get to play if you’re coaching. So I would say you stay in that league as a player as long as you possibly can. You have the rest of your life to coach.”
Grier entered the NFL as a Panthers draftee in 2019. The former third-rounder made two appearances as a rookie, but he has not seen any regular-season action since. Grier has managed to remain in the NFL, though, and he will add at least one more season to his resume from a playing perspective. Given the willingness of the Cowboys to add him to their staff, future opportunities can certainly be expected beginning next year.
In 2026, the Panthers will once again have Bryce Young as their starting quarterback. The coming season will be critical as Carolina gives thought to a long-term extension in his case. The team signed Kenny Pickett in March in a move which set up the trade sending Andy Dalton to Philadelphia. Grier is slated to spend 2026 behind those two on the depth chart.
Playing time during the fall is once again highly unlikely as a result. Nevertheless, Grier represents a candidate to immediately transition to coaching once he elects to hang up his cleats.
Panthers Sign QB Will Grier
Will Grier is returning to his original NFL team in time for offseason practices. A deal with the Panthers has been worked out, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The news is now official, per a team announcement.
Grier entered the league as a third-round pick for Carolina. His only two regular-season appearances to date were both starts, and they came about during his rookie season. Grier has since bounced around the league, seeing time in several organizations in a depth capacity.
The 31-year-old inked a futures contract with the Cowboys in February, but he was cut one month later. Grier remained a free agent until today, with teams sorting out their depth charts in advance of spring work (not to mention the draft). The West Virginia product is now in position to serve as Carolina’s third-string passer for the time being.
The Panthers will once again be led by Bryce Young under center in 2026. The former No. 1 pick had veteran Andy Dalton alongside him for each of his first three seasons in the NFL, but Carolina sought out a change at the QB2 spot. That resulted in Kenny Pickett being added on the open market and Dalton being traded to the Eagles. Young and Pickett will lead the way as the Panthers aim to build off their playoff appearance in 2025.
Carolina entered Monday near the bottom of the league in cap space. This Grier addition will no doubt come about on a deal worth the league minimum, however. The Panthers will turn their attention to the upcoming draft and focus on signing their incoming rookie class over the near future.
Cowboys Release QB Will Grier
The Cowboys are clearing some QB depth. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, the team is cutting quarterback Will Grier.
A 2019 third-round pick by the Panthers, Grier had been with the Cowboys organization for the past year-plus. He spent the final two months of the 2024 season on the practice squad (before a late-season promotion), and he remained on the taxi squad for the entirety of the 2025 campaign.
There was initially some hope that he’d compete with Joe Milton for the QB2 gig behind Dak Prescott in 2026. However, that opportunity quickly came to an end when the Cowboys signed Sam Howell to be their primary backup at the position. That made Grier expendable.
The QB got a two-game look with the Panthers as a rookie, going winless while completing 28 of his 52 pass attempts for 228 yards and four interceptions. He lasted one more year in Carolina before getting cut, and that led to his first stint with the Cowboys. He spent both the 2021 and 2022 campaigns in Dallas before bouncing around the NFL in 2023, when he spent time with the Bengals, Patriots, and Chargers.
He spent most of the 2024 season on the Eagles practice squad before catching on with the Cowboys for his second stint with the organization. Now, Grier will be hunting for yet another NFL opportunity.
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 2/2/26
Three teams signed players to reserve/futures deals on Monday. Here are the latest updates:
Dallas Cowboys
- QB Will Grier
Kansas City Chiefs
- QB Jake Haener
New York Jets
- DT Jack Heflin
Haener, 26, was offered a futures deal by the Saints, per Jeff Duncan of The Times Picayune, but sought a better opportunity instead. Kansas City may present one. The Chiefs only have one quarterback – Chris Oladokun – under contract for the 2026 season other than Patrick Mahomes, who will spend the next several months working his back from a torn ACL. Mahomes is unlikely to be ready for Week 1, so the Chiefs will be evaluating alternative quarterback options this offseason. It seems like Haener will be one of them.
Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC East
Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Cowboys, Commanders, Giants and Eagles moves are noted below.
Dallas Cowboys
Signed:
- OL Hakeem Adeniji, CB C.J. Goodwin
Claimed:
- DB Twikweze Bridges (from Chargers), DB Reddy Steward (from Vikings)
Waived:
- CB Andrew Booth, CB Zion Childress
Placed on IR:
- RB Phil Mafah (story), Caelen Carson
Signed to practice squad:
- LB Justin Barron, WR Jalen Brooks, DT Earnest Brown, G Saahdiq Charles, T Geron Christian, S Alijah Clark, WR Jalen Cropper, RB Malik Davis, TE Rivaldo Fairweather, TE Princeton Fant, QB Will Grier, CB Kemon Hall, WR Traeshon Holden, LB Buddy Johnson, DE Dayo Odeleye, CB Robert Rochell
New York Giants
Claimed:
- DB Beau Brade (from Ravens), DB Rico Payton (from Saints)
Released:
Signed to practice squad:
- DL Elijah Chatman, OLB Trace Ford, OLB Tomon Fox, DL Elijah Garcia, OL Bryan Hudson, WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey, OL Jake Kubas, S Raheem Layne, K Jude McAtamney, RB Dante Miller, DL Jordon Riley, WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette, CB Dee Williams
Philadelphia Eagles
Signed:
Claimed:
- C Willie Lampkin (from Rams)
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
- LB Chance Campbell, WR Elijah Cooks, RB Audric Estime, G Kenyon Green, TE E.J. Jenkins, CB Brandon Johnson, OLB Patrick Johnson, TE Cameron Latu, WR Terrace Marshall, QB Kyle McCord, CB Parry Nickerson, T Hollin Pierce, OLB Antwaun Powell-Ryland, CB Eli Ricks, S Andre Sam
Washington Commanders
Signed to practice squad:
- DT Ricky Barber, WR Ja’Corey Brooks, TE Lawrence Cager, DT Sheldon Day, C Michael Deiter, CB Antonio Hamilton, QB Sam Hartman, DE Jalyn Holmes, WR Jacoby Jones, DE T.J. Maguranyanga, S Rob McDaniel, G Timothy McKay, WR Chris Moore, CB Car’lin Vigers
Deuce Vaughn, La’el Collins Among Cowboys’ Cuts; Shavon Revel Lands On NFI List
Here are the Cowboys’ moves to pare their roster down to 53:
Released:
- OL Hakeem Adeniji
- DL Earnest Brown
- T Saahdiq Charles
- T Geron Christian
- OL La’el Collins
- CB C.J. Goodwin
- QB Will Grier
- CB Kemon Hall
- LB Darius Harris
- LB Buddy Johnson
- CB Israel Mukuamu
- CB Michael Ojemudia
- CB Robert Rochell
Waived:
- DT Tommy Akingbesote
- LB Justin Barron
- WR Jalen Brooks
- S Alijah Clark
- WR Jalen Cropper
- RB Malik Davis
- TE Rivaldo Fairweather
- TE Princeton Fant
- WR Traeshon Holden
- CB Troy Pride
- S Mike Smith
- RB Deuce Vaughn
- DE Tyrus Wheat
Placed on IR (return designation):
- DE Payton Turner
- WR Jonathan Mingo
Placed on reserve/PUP list:
Placed on reserve/NFI list:
- CB Shavon Revel
Revel’s timetable has remained murky, but this placement offers some clarity. The third-round rookie cornerback will miss at least four games after being transferred from the active/NFI list to the reserve/NFI list. While the Cowboys had aimed for Revel to play in September, his father’s comment about the ACL rehab effort pointed to a slightly lengthier recovery timetable. Revel suffered the tear in September 2024; he will now be out more than a year since the injury.
Vaughn has been with the Cowboys since they drafted him in the 2023 sixth round, but the team overhauled its backfield this offseason. Dallas signed Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders before drafting two RBs (Jaydon Blue, Phil Mafah). Vaughn could be retained on a practice squad deal, but teams cannot begin assembling their taxi squads until Wednesday.
Overshown is espected to miss most of the season after suffering a major knee injury in Week 14. Turner suffered broken ribs, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. While Turner and Mingo will count against Dallas’ in-season injury activations, dropping the number to six, Mafah will be carried on the active roster and then placed on IR.
Cowboys’ QB2 Job Unsettled; Joe Milton, Will Grier Likely To Make 53-Man Roster
Will Grier has not thrown a regular season pass since 2019, his first year in the NFL. He is, however, expected to make the Cowboys’ 53-man roster, per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News.
The Cowboys’ cap crunch rendered them unable to re-sign backup QB Cooper Rush, who started eight games in 2024 in relief of an injured Dak Prescott and who signed a two-year deal worth up to $12.2MM with the Ravens in March. At the time, it was believed Dallas would select a signal-caller in April’s draft and have that player compete with Grier to serve as Prescott’s backup in 2025.
Instead, the Cowboys acquired Joe Milton in a pre-draft trade with the Patriots, who had made Milton a sixth-round choice in 2024. The former Tennessee standout flashed in New England’s regular season finale against the Bills, and he reportedly wanted to be dealt to a team that would allow him to compete for a starting gig.
Obviously, the Cowboys’ starting quarterback position is already spoken for, but given Milton’s youth (he just turned 25 in March) and apparent upside, he would seemingly be the frontrunner for the QB2 post in 2025 (as our Ben Levine recently suggested). However, Watkins says that is not necessarily set in stone, and he indicates it is still unclear whether Milton or Grier will be tapped as Rush’s replacement.
Despite his lack of playing time, Grier has shown enough to stick on NFL rosters or practice squads since he entered the league as a third-round pick of the Panthers in 2019. That includes a two-year run with the Cowboys as a backup/third-stringer/practice squad player from 2021-22. Dallas cut him after acquiring Trey Lance via trade in August 2023, and he ultimately split the 2023 campaign between the Bengals, Patriots, and Chargers.
He reunited with former Cowboys OC Kellen Moore by signing a one-year contract with the Eagles in March 2024, but he did not crack Philadelphia’s 53-man roster. He was retained via a taxi squad deal before a November release, and he reunited with the Cowboys shortly thereafter. He then re-signed with Dallas on a one-year pact shortly after the 2024 season ended.
Now 30, Grier’s chances of becoming a regular starter in the NFL are quite slim. Milton, on the other hand, is entering the second year of his rookie contract and could still forge a path as a QB1 somewhere. Although they did not surrender much to acquire him, the Cowboys clearly saw enough in Milton to swing a trade for him. He will nonetheless have to earn backup duties.
One way or another, it seems both players will join Prescott in Dallas’ 2025 quarterbacks room.
Ravens Sign QB Cooper Rush
The Ravens have a new backup in place for QB Lamar Jackson. Per Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Baltimore is signing Cooper Rush to a two-year deal worth up to $12.2MM.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Rush will receive $4.2MM in guaranteed money, and Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic notes the true value of the two-year accord is $6.2MM. Rush can earn an additional $6MM in incentives (including playing time incentives) that presumably will only be hit if Jackson sustains an injury.
Luckily for the Ravens, their star passer and two-time MVP has been able to play a full slate of games over the past two years, so the club’s decision to invest minimally in the backup QB position with players like former UDFA Tyler Huntley and noted journeyman Josh Johnson has been a non-issue. That said, Zrebiec reported earlier this month that Baltimore could be in the market for an upgrade (subscription required), and the team has found one in Rush.
Cowboys QB1 Dak Prescott missed five games due to injury in 2022 and nine more in 2024, and Rush capably filled in for him on both occasions. In 14 career starts, the Central Michigan alum has compiled a 9-5 record, including a 4-4 mark last season. In 2024, Rush completed just over 60% of his passes for 1,844 yards and 12 touchdowns against five interceptions.
As that TD:INT ratio suggests, the 31-year-old has been lauded for his ability to avoid mistakes. He does not offer much in the running game, so in the event he needs to relieve Jackson and his dual-threat abilities, offensive coordinator Todd Monken will need to adjust the offense accordingly. Still, Rush is a quality backup that can keep a club afloat for a stretch, and despite the strong rapport that Johnson and Jackson established, the Ravens clearly felt a more significant expenditure was necessary (though Zrebiec does leave open the possibility that Johnson could return as a third-stringer).
In light of Prescott’s market-topping contract and the massive extension for Micah Parsons that is looming on the horizon — to say nothing of CeeDee Lamb‘s high-end deal — Cowboys COO Stephen Jones recently indicated Dallas would allow Rush and fellow signal-caller/reclamation project Trey Lance to seek greener pastures elsewhere. David Moore of the Dallas Morning News believes the club will add a passer on Day 3 of next month’s draft and allow that player to compete with Will Grier for the backup gig in 2025.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/6/25
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Released: RB Royce Freeman
Dallas Cowboys
- Re-signed: QB Will Grier, LB Darius Harris
Indianapolis Colts
- Re-signed: RB Tyler Goodson, LB Segun Olubi
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed (two years): CB Jason Maitre
New Orleans Saints
- Re-signed: K Charlie Smyth
A number of impending free agents quickly re-signed with their current organizations today. While these players aren’t shoo-ins for roster spots in 2025, they are attached to actual NFL contracts (vs. reserve/futures contracts, which would need to be converted into real contracts if a player makes a 53-man roster).
In addition to hanging on to kicker Charlie Smyth today, the Saints also had to deal with some notable details on a previously-agreed-upon contract. The NFL rejected the team’s contract to safety Travion Fluellen, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston. The organization later revised the agreement, bumping the contract from a two-year pact to a three-year pact. It’s uncertain why the league rejected the initial deal, although it could be due to Fluellen’s status as a former UFL player.