Carolina Panthers sign a QB who knows Charlotte well just ahead of NFL Draft
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- The Panthers signed former Charlotte area high school standout, the Observer confirmed.
- Grier is now the Panthers’ third quarterback on their current roster.
- Grier grew up in the Charlotte area and set high school passing records in North Carolina.
The Carolina Panthers have added a familiar name to their quarterback room.
The team signed Will Grier on Tuesday morning, a league source confirmed to The Charlotte Observer. ESPN’s Adam Schefter had the news first. Grier is now the third QB on Carolina’s roster, behind starter Bryce Young and backup Kenny Pickett.
The Panthers and Grier go way back.
For starters, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound signal-caller grew up in the Charlotte area. He attended SouthLake Christian Academy in Huntersville before transferring to Davidson Day school and breaking records there — including his senior season, where he threw for 4,989 passing yards and a North Carolina-record 77 touchdowns en route to a Parade Magazine National Player of the Year distinction.
In one game at Davidson Day, he threw for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns — winning the contest 104-80.
He played at Florida and at West Virginia for college, and then, in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Panthers selected Grier with a third-round pick to back up Cam Newton and Kyle Allen. Grier played and started in two games that season — the only two he’s played in the NFL, according to his Pro Football Reference page.
Grier has stayed in the league since then, however. He was claimed off waivers in 2021 by the Dallas Cowboys, then moved around the league over the course of the next few years, with stints in Cincinnati, New England, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and then Dallas again.
He most recently spent 2025 with the Cowboys’ practice squad; he was officially released by the team and became a free agent in March.
This does not necessarily mean that the Panthers won’t sign a quarterback by the end of this week — with the NFL Draft starting on Thursday and concluding on Saturday. Carolina head coach Dave Canales generally keeps four quarterbacks on his 90-man training camp rosters.
The Panthers’ roster, with Grier’s addition, is at 75 players.
