Patriots sign former Cowboys, Bengals QB Will Grier to active roster, per report

The New England Patriots have shuffled around their backup quarterbacks quite a bit this season. At the 53-man roster deadline, Bill Belichick cut both Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham, but re-signed both to New England’s practice squad. Later, the Patriots signed Matt Corral, but it was Zappe who was eventually promoted to the active roster to serve as Mac Jones’ No. 2. Now, the Patriots are reportedly adding another quarterback.

New England has signed quarterback Will Grier to its active roster, per ESPN. Grier was previously on the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad, which sets up a potential dilemma for the Bengals. Joe Burrow reaggravated his preseason calf injury last weekend, and it’s unknown if he will play Monday night vs. the Los Angeles Rams. Jake Browning is now the only other quarterback on the Bengals’ active roster or practice squad as of Thursday afternoon.

Grier was originally a third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers out of West Virginia in 2019. He made two starts for Carolina, and completed 28 of 52 passes for 228 yards and four interceptions. After being released in 2021, Grier found his way to the Dallas Cowboys.

The 28 year old had a notable performance in the preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders, where he played even though he was informed he would not make the final 53-man roster after the Cowboys traded for 49ers backup Trey Lance. In the 31-16 win, Grier completed 29 of 35 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed 10 times for 53 yards and two more scores. 

It remains to be seen what the Patriots’ strategy is with their quarterbacks, but they now have four total signal-callers in the building. Corral is not officially with the organization.