The backup quarterback on a losing team is almost always the most popular guy among any fanbase – with every loss and every turnover, the clamoring for a change at the most important position on the team will start to grow louder.
Add in the fact that this particular backup quarterback was the first one selected since the Panthers took Cam Newton first overall in 2011 and the voices will start to rise. Add in a five-game losing streak and they’ll shout; throw 19 turnovers against 15 touchdowns in 11 starts and they’ll reach a fever pitch, just as they did during the second half of the Panthers 40-20 loss in Atlanta which officially eliminated them from playoff contention. The fanbase demanded to see a glimpse of third-round pick Will Grier, voicing their displeasure and impatience on social media as they tried to will interim head coach Perry Fewell to give Grier a chance to show why the Panthers made him the 100th pick in the draft through their keyboards in all caps.
But Fewell says he’ll stick with Kyle Allen, who after winning the first five starts of his career has dropped six of his last seven.
“We’re going with our quarterback situation as we have it right now and I think that gives us the best opportunity to win right now,” Fewell said when asked if he would consider moving on from Allen, who was 28-of-41 for 293 yards with one score, two interceptions and a lost fumble Sunday in Atlanta. “We’re on a prove-it basis; we’re day-to-day, we’re week-to-week, so I’ll never say never – but with our situation the way it is right now, I think [Allen] gives us the best opportunity.”
Meanwhile Grier, who has been running the scout team in practice for the majority of the season, says he’s ready to step onto the field if asked, but he wouldn’t weigh in on whether or not he felt like it was time to make a change at quarterback.
“It’s not really up to me, I just show up to work everyday, try to get better [and] try to help this team,” said Grier after the game. “I’ve just got to show up to work and do my job, that’s all I can do.”
“It’s out of my control and I’ve just got to stay ready.”
The Panthers have had multiple young players pressed into duty this season – every pick from the 2019 draft class has played a snap, including sixth-round pick Dennis Daley, who has taken snaps at four of the five offensive line positions due to injury – every pick, that is, except for Grier.
While many thought that Grier would step in and secure the backup job during training camp, former UDFA Kyle Allen won that battle over the rookie – and with Cam Newton sidelined since Week 2, Allen has been inconsistent, to put it mildly, over the course of the season, with the highs of his four-game win streak to bring the Panthers to 4-2 matched by the lows of division rival Falcons blowing the Panthers out by almost 50 over the course of three weeks.
In a lost season, the only solace can come when a team offers a glimmer of hope for future seasons – and that’s what Grier can provide.
Or, if the reason the Panthers haven’t wanted to play Grier is not because of their dedication to Allen but rather a peek behind the curtain at Grier’s performance during closed practices, at least they’ll know – 14 weeks of running the scout team must have helped Grier grow since he was 34-of-61 for 385 yards with two touchdown passes and three interceptions and admitted he hadn’t adjusted to the speed of the NFL, but until he hits the field – he won’t know.
And neither will anyone else.
“I think I’ve gotten a lot better; [I’m] just trying to learn as much as I can,” said Grier. “Without taking reps, you have to be able to learn and grow and watch and try and soak in as much as I can, so I’m trying to that as best I can.”
While the prospect of a mid-game quarterback switch – what the majority wanted to see in Atlanta – might not be the most appetizing option for a rookie quarterback to take his first snaps, perhaps after a full week of practice taking snaps with the first team, it might make more sense against a Seattle defense that gives up the fourth-most passing yards per game and has the fourth-fewest sacks in the league.
It may also not be fair to put a rookie QB behind a patchwork offensive line that has allowed 50 sacks, second-most in the NFL, through 13 games and has two backups playing on the left side.
But with the future of the quarterback position in Carolina unknown as Cam Newton is set to undergo foot surgery this week, the team in flux after the firing of Ron Rivera earlier this week and the spectre of a possible rebuild on the horizon, Grier is perhaps the biggest unknown – but he’ll just continue to put his head down and do the work until his number is called.
“That’s not up to me and out of my control,” Grier said when asked whether or not he’d like to get on the field. “I just have to be as ready as I can and continue to learn.”
When he’ll get to show what he’s learned remains to be seen.
