Dallas Cowboys sign Will Grier to active roster

The Cowboys have signed quarterback Will Grier to its 53-man active roster. He moves up from the practice squad to join Cooper Rush and Trey Lance in the Dallas quarterback room.

Grier, who played his college football at Florida and West Virginia, spent time with the organization in both 2022 and 2023 before signing with Dallas in November. However, he hasn’t seen in-game action since 2019 when he was a member of the Carolina Panthers.

Grier is best known for his two seasons at West Virginia, where he threw for 71 touchdowns and over 7,000 yards for the Mountaineers. During the final game of his college career against Oklahoma, he threw for 539 yards and four touchdowns to cap off a memorable stretch.

He led WVU to an 8-1 start to the season that year before dropping the final two games of the season.

Coming out of college, Grier is a former third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers, staying with them for two seasons before making a move over to Dallas. Stops have also been made in New England and in Los Angeles with the Chargers. Stints on practice squads occurred in Cincinnati during the 2023 season and this year with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Going back to the 2019 season with Carolina, Grier played in and started two games. He threw for 228 yards, no touchdowns, and four interceptions while completing 53.8% of his throws. Both games resulted in losses for the Panthers as the offense scored a total of 16 points.

Whether Grier will end up playing for the Cowboys during Week 18 remains to be seen. However, Cooper Rush is closing in on a lucrative incentive in his contract. He’s played 52.3% of snaps for the Cowboys’ offense this season. If he pushes that to 55%, he’ll earn a contract bonus of $250,000.

However, there has been no announcement of who will start under center for Dallas on Sunday. Some expected Lance to start this game, and adding Grier to the active roster only further throws a wrench into those hopes for Rush.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was asked about where the QB competition stands, but he brushed off the question.

“I really don’t want to talk about it,” McCarthy said Thursday. “We’re looking at this as a competition between football operations. We’re going to stay the course.” 

It won’t take long to find out, as the Cowboys kick off Week 18 against the Washington Commanders on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET live on FOX.