3 Reasons Why the Panthers Made the Wrong Decision on Will Grier
The Carolina Panthers made the decision to waive former 3rd round pick, Will Grier, Tuesday morning. This means that PJ Walker will be the backup to Sam Darnold and that Carolina will carry just two quarterbacks on the roster.
Did the Panthers make the wrong decision on Grier? I think so. Here's why:
Grier flat out beat Walker
First and foremost, Grier outplayed PJ Walker in the preseason and it really wasn't that close. In the first game against the Colts, Walker started off strong going 4/5 for 60 yards on the opening drive but struggled the rest of the way completing just 6 of 15 passes which includes going 0 for 5 on his final drive of the first half. Grier had very few opportunities against the Colts but did complete 6 of 10 passes.
Fast forward to week two and Grier looked really sharp. He finished 11/14 for 144 yards while Walker went a forgettable 1/8 for just eight yards. If you combine the final drive of the Colts game with his entire performance against the Ravens, Walker went 1/13.
In the final preseason game, Sam Darnold played the entire first half which limited the opportunities for both quarterbacks, and for Grier, the 2nd time in three preseason games where he had limited work. The big knock on Grier is that he doesn't have the dual-threat ability that Walker presents. That might be true but Grier does have the athleticism to make plays happen with his feet if need be. We saw him take off for a 24-yard touchdown in the preseason finale against Pittsburgh.
Walker's bad trend
The one thing I have noticed with PJ Walker is his accuracy is a little erratic as the game goes on. He has this trend of starting good and progressively getting worse as the defense begins to make adjustments. Is Walker a bad quarterback? No, but this has been his biggest problem since joining Carolina. It's great to be a mobile quarterback and all but your number one priority is to throw the ball with efficiency. Completing 41% of passes isn't going to get the job done.
Thin QB room
I know carrying three quarterbacks isn't ideal but when there are question marks in the room as a whole, it makes sense to keep three. Sam Darnold looked solid in the preseason but will that translate to the regular season? If Darnold gets injured, the Panthers will be down to just PJ Walker which is an even less ideal of a situation. It's one thing if you have a proven commodity as your starter but the Panthers still aren't sure what Darnold is going to give them.
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:
Facebook - @PanthersOnSI
Twitter - @SI_Panthers and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.
