The Will Grier Era begins for Carolina this Sunday.
NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport is reporting that the former Mountaineers quarterback will make his first NFL start when the Carolina Panthers visit the Indianapolis Colts. Carolina drafted Grier out of West Virginia with the 100th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Grier began his rookie year with the expectation of being Carolina’s third-string quarterback. Panthers starter Cam Newton suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2, with Kyle Allen taking his place.
However, Allen is finally playing poorly enough for the Panthers to give Grier a chance. Allen has thrown for eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions in Carolina’s past five games, all losses.
Grier finished his West Virginia career with career with 71 touchdown passes and 7,354 career passing yards, ranking second and third in both categories in program history. He was fourth in the voting for last year’s Heisman Trophy.
Grier will be the first WVU quarterback to start an NFL game since Geno Smith filled in for the Giants in Week 13 of the 2017 season.