Former WVU Star Quarterback Will Grier Retires from Football

One of the best WVU quarterbacks in recent memory has called it a career.

MG Ellis

One of the most successful West Virginia quarterbacks of this century is calling it a career, as Will Grier officially retired from the NFL on Wednesday after seven seasons in the pros.

The Carolina Panthers' official X account posted a link to an article on Wednesday afternoon announcing that Grier had retired.

Quarterback Will Grier retireshttps://t.co/YuVC5NnRdT

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) July 15, 2026

Grier was drafted 100th overall in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. The quarterback also spent time with the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles in his career.

Grier started only two games in his NFL career, both for the Carolina Panthers in 2019. In those starters, Grier was thrown into a rough situation at the end of the season with a team that was clearly just trying to get to the end of the year. He amassed 288 yards and four interceptions in those starts with a 53.8 completion percentage. Unfortunately for the former Mountaineer standout, those reps would be the only ones that he would get as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

Grier will be remembered for his time at WVU

Sep 14, 2019; Morgantown, WV, USA; Former West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback and current Carolina Panthers quarterback Will Grier waves to the crowd during the first quarter against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

Grier transferred to West Virginia after he learned he would be suspended for the entire 2016 season. The suspension was a result of testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Grier maintained that he was unaware of the banned substance that was included in a completely unrelated substance he was taking. After sitting out the 2016 season, Grier took over as the starting quarterback for the start of the 2017 season and never looked back.

Grier posted 3,490 yards and 36 touchdowns in his junior season, which was cut short due to a broken finger he suffered late in the year against Texas. Grier was nothing short of the perfect quarterback for Dana Holgorsen’s air raid offense, and they struggled mightily without him.

The quarterback returned for his senior season and posted even more impressive numbers with 3,864 yards and 37 touchdowns. Grier was the preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and eventually earned second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2017. This is an even more impressive feat when you consider that Kyler Murray, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2018, earned first-team honors.

Grier never truly got a fair shot to show his skills as a starting quarterback at the NFL level. However, Grier will go down as one of the most successful and productive quarterbacks that the Mountaineers have ever had. After seven professional seasons for six teams, the former Mountaineer signal-caller's playing career is complete.