MORGANTOWN — Former West Virginia quarterback Will Grier notified the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday afternoon that he planned to retire. Grier signed with his hometown team in April, and now isn’t going to play in the 2026 season, choosing to hang up the cleats at 31 years old.
Grier posted on social media confirming his retirement. The Panthers made it official and placed him on the reserve/retired list.
“Retired today,” Grier posted on his Instagram, showing pictures of himself in a Dallas Cowboys, Florida Gators and WVU uniform.
Grier’s football career had its ups and downs, but he was a household name in Morgantown. He played two seasons for WVU from 2017-18, transferring over from Florida. Grier threw for 7,000-plus yards and 70 touchdowns, helping the Mountaineers to be ranked while he was the signal-caller.
In 2018, Grier had the third-most passing yards in a single WVU season (3,864) and is third all-time in passing yards, as well (7,354). He’s best known for his 539 yards against Oklahoma and his game-winning two-point conversion against Texas after slinging a 33-yard pass to Gary Jennings Jr. with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter. WVU was in two bowl games while Grier was at QB.
His success was enough for the Panthers to draft him in the third round in 2019. But his time in Carolina wasn’t the same as with the Mountaineers. He sat behind NFL MVP Cam Newton and Kyle Allen and made his debut at QB in Week 16 and then again in Week 17 as a rookie. Grier threw four interceptions in those two games. Those were the only two games he played in his NFL career, and he was later released in 2021.
Grier was picked up by the Cowboys for two seasons and joined the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023. He was also on the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers at one point during that season. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 offseason and spent the actual season back on the Cowboys. He was on the Cowboys until he signed a contract with the Panthers this spring.
Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott posted on social media about Grier’s retirement.
“Never retired, just switching lanes,” Prescott wrote. “Congrats, my brother.”
Grier had a chance to fight for a backup spot with former Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett and undrafted free agent Haynes King, but he decided his career in the NFL is over instead. There are reports that teams reached out to Grier to join their coaching staff, so that could be the direction now that his playing career has ended.
