Charlotte Observer’s Scott Fowler, who watched now-Carolina Panthers quarterback Will Grier play in high school, wrote about a game where he threw for 873 yards. The number seems impossible for someone like Grier, whose NFL career falls flat against his high school and college numbers. But the resolute QB, braving all odds, continues to find a new home every single year he is shown out of one.

The Dallas Cowboys, however, provided him a detour, with a job on their staff. But Will Grier refused.

“After Grier spent last season on Dallas’ practice squad, the Cowboys offered him a position on Brian Schottenheimer’s coaching staff this year, according to Chad Grier, who said Will was leaning toward taking it before the Panthers called,” The Athletic’s Joseph Person reported this week.

Grier, now 31, has played in exactly two games in his seven-year-long career, both coming in his rookie season in 2019. Since then, it has been a long road through six different teams, practice squads, roster cuts, and quiet battles that never made the highlight reel. Grier played with the Cowboys in two separate stints, and he got to play in only one preseason game for the team. For the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the QB found himself in the practice squad once again. He was released this March.

It is unknown what role Schottenheimer had singled out for Grier. But a coaching position would give him the stability that his playing career never did. He would have made for a great fit with the Cowboys, as he’s been with the Cowboys for five years. There couldn’t have been a better launchpad for a coaching career than Dallas, who were offering Grier knowing that he hadn’t played a lot in the NFL. And it was known to everyone that there were no guarantees about his tenure with the Panthers.

But sometimes, the heart just wants what it wants.

“Man, there’s not a huge chance you’re gonna play (in Carolina) this year. But there’s zero chance you get to play if you’re coaching,” Chad Grier, Will’s father, told The Athletic. “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’s contract with the Panthers is worth just $1.2 million. He is part of a quarterback room that already has a starter in Bryce Young and a backup in veteran Kenny Pickett. Grier’s numbers in the NFL are negligible compared to what these two alone have achieved in their individual careers. But the potential that he carries still deserves a chance to be seen on the field.

In his first game for the West Virginia Mountaineers in college, Grier threw for 371 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. In his preseason game for the Cowboys, the QB racked up 305 yards through the air and scored four touchdowns – two passing and two rushing. Even though he hasn’t played much, Grier presents a clear upside in the depth chart.

“Will’s a guy that I evaluated when he came out, and always loved his game,” Panthers head coach Dave Canales said after the OTAs on June 3. “Fiery, aggressive, style of play, big arm, accuracy, and just played with a lot of energy. I’ve just kinda followed him and tracked him all along this time.”

Grier, on his part, is doing what he knows how to do best: hoping and waiting (apart from playing great football).

“All I’m focused on is getting myself ready for that opportunity,” Grier told the Charlotte Observer’s Scott Fowler. “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.”

Will Grier’s last day as a Cowboy was an emotional ride

The Cowboys first claimed Grier in 2021, where he spent two full seasons learning behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush under head coach Mike McCarthy. Dallas waived him heading out of the 2022 preseason, then brought him back to the practice squad before eventually promoting him to the active roster. But then came Trey Lance in 2023, making Grier the odd one out in the QB room.

Dallas informed the QB of its decision to cut him on the very day he was to play the aforementioned preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders. And he made sure that it left a mark on everyone who watched. Along with all those yards and scores, Grier was turnover-free and had an accuracy rate of 82%.

Quarterback Dak Prescott, who called the plays for that game, was all praise about the QB.

“That man just played his ass off,”  Prescott said. “That’s who Will is. That’s who Will’s been since the time he’s been here. It was awesome that he got to go out there and put that performance on display, and I hope the rest of the league saw that and took notice.”

Jerry Jones felt it too. He sought Grier out personally after the game.

“He sat in my locker with me and just talked to me about how much he respected me and how great a game that was,” Grier noted. “Just talked for about five or so minutes. But he really cares and is a big part of every part of the organization from top down, and you feel that being a player there.”

Perhaps that zeal has stuck with the Cowboys all this time, leading them to offer him a new career. But for now, they will have to wait until Grier thinks it’s time for him to think otherwise.