Carolina Panthers quarterback retires a week before training camp begins
A Carolina Panthers quarterback has taken himself off the roster a week before training camp begins.
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Will Grier, the veteran signal caller who signed in late April, has decided to retire. The team made the announcement Wednesday — specifically moving the 31-year-old quarterback to the reserve/retired list on its roster.
The Panthers now have a slot open on their 91-man training camp roster. The team’s quarterback room now consists of Bryce Young, Kenny Pickett and undrafted rookie free agent Haynes King.
Grier has about as many ties to the Panthers as one could have. He’s from the Charlotte area and was one of the best high school prospects of his generation. He attended SouthLake Christian Academy in Huntersville before transferring to Davidson Day School and breaking records there — including a North Carolina-record 77 touchdown passes en route to being named Parade Magazine’s National Player of the Year.
He played at Florida and West Virginia in college before being selected by the Panthers in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Grier started two games that season — the only two he’s played in the NFL.
Grier stayed in the league since then, filling roles as practice squad players and sounding boards for quarterbacks. And he never seemed to lose focus of his dream of being on the field again, leading the offense. He told The Charlotte Observer earlier this summer that he believed another chance was out there for him.
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“All I’m focused on is getting myself ready for that opportunity,” Grier told The Observer in June. “That’s kind of the position I’ve been in the last few years. It’s a tough position to be in. But at the same time, I have a lot of experience and have played a lot of good ball. I just would love an opportunity to play during the season.”
He also said that he has “a doctorate” degree in football. That started in Charlotte — with his father, Chad, being a well-known high school football coach in the area — and continued through the rest of his playing days. He said that he would like to coach one day.
But still, in June, he was clinging to those playing dreams.
“I’m self-aware enough to know that I’m good enough to still play, and just need an opportunity,” Grier said. “So I’m going to play as long as I can.”
This is the second surprising retirement the Panthers have weathered this offseason. The first came in March, when offensive lineman Yosh Nijman announced on Instagram that he was done playing the game he loved.
This news makes it likely that King — the aforementioned undrafted QB out of Georgia Tech — will get most of the reps in the Panthers’ first preseason game on Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio, the day before Luke Kuechly gets enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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