What next for Panthers QB Will Grier after latest snub vs. Lions?
By Dean Jones
What comes next for Will Grier after his Week 11 snub?
If Will Grier was hoping for a chance to shine with the Carolina Panthers after Teddy Bridgewater was ruled out against the Lions, he was out of luck. The second-year quarterback was riding the pine once again as the decision-makers opted to start P.J. Walker instead after their No. 1 option failed to prove his fitness in warm-ups.
This is a crushing blow for Grier and one that puts his future with the Panthers in serious doubt. The organization will never get a better chance to see what adjustments he’s made after struggling considerably as a rookie and this appears to be a damning indictment of what the coaching staff thinks of the player from the outside looking in.
Head coach Matt Rhule has a more emotional attachment to Walker after the pair worked together and achieved some notable success in college at Temple.
On the flip side, the former Baylor man wasn’t around when the Panthers drafted Grier and stated prior to Week 11 that where a player was selected would not come into the thought process when deciding who would come in for Bridgewater if he was unable to go.
This was a nice move from Rhule, who kept the Lions guessing who was going to be under center until the last minute. But it offers no solace for Grier and it was sad to see Carolina’s second and third-round picks in 2019 on the sidelines while others were preferred.