Is There Still a Future for Will Grier in Carolina?

The Panthers decided to go with P.J. Walker as the backup in 2020. Could this spell trouble for former 3rd round pick Will Grier?

For the first month or so of the 2020 season it was a rotating door at the backup quarterback spot for the Carolina Panthers between Will Grier and P.J. Walker. From week to week, there would be no true idea as to who the backup to Teddy Bridgewater was going to be until gameday when the Panthers would release the inactives list.

When Bridgewater went down with an MCL sprain in a week ten loss to Tampa Bay, it seemed like the perfect time to insert Will Grier and see what you have in him. However, Rhule sort of foreshadowed the decision to start Walker over Grier against Detroit earlier in the week when he told the media the following about Grier.

"He's practiced really well and prepared really well. We could go the whole year not getting Will in the game and I would know exactly what we have with him because I see it day in and day out. I have no doubt about what he can do. He just has to go out and do it when the time comes. But I want to make sure I say it again, I think Will has a fantastic future and if he plays this week I have no doubt that he can play well and help us win."

Don't get me wrong, I think P.J. Walker played well in his start against Detroit despite the two interceptions, but I don't necessarily understand the logic of not playing Grier. I get he wasn't drafted by Rhule, but he is a third-round pick regardless. Walker played for Rhule at Temple and was very successful help in guiding the Owls to back-to-back 10-win seasons. Rhule knows what Walker can do in a game because he's seen it with his own eyes. However, there is still a big question as to whether or not Grier has a future with the Panthers. 

You can look at his 27/44 stat line including zero touchdowns and four interceptions from 2019 and say he's just not a good NFL quarterback, but why write off a player after he's only played 1.5 games? Do you know how many quarterbacks absolutely stunk it up in their first two games or their entire rookie season for that matter and still got a chance? There's a boatload of them, even some of the greats had awful rookie campaigns. 

I'm not saying Will Grier is Peyton Manning by any means, but there hasn't been enough of a sample size to say that Grier can't cut it as an NFL quarterback.

To me, the real question is: Does Carolina view him as a player that can backup Sam Darnold? Or is he actually just fighting for a spot on the roster? If it's the latter, it may be in the best interest of both parties to part ways and allow Grier to have a fresh start with an organization that can give him an opportunity to win a backup job. The fact that Grier was inactive for nine of the final eleven games of the 2020 season seems to be a good indicator that he has some work to do in order to leapfrog P.J. Walker for the No. 2 spot. With OTAs set to begin today, Grier will need to make the most out of every single rep he gets. 

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