Panthers fans have been asking for it for weeks and the coaching staff has finally acquiesced – third-round pick Will Grier will get the first start of his career Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, as reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport Monday afternoon.
The signs seemed to be pointing towards Grier getting his first start as interim head coach Perry Fewell last week said during his Monday press conference that he would be starting Kyle Allen and wasn’t “trying to start a controversy” – this week, that was not the case as Fewell instead declined to name a starter on Monday.
“Over the next two days, we’ll continue to evaluate and you’ll know on Wednesday,” said Fewell.
Allen, who has lost six straight starts after winning his first four of the season in relief of Cam Newton, threw three interceptions in the Panthers 30-24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and has turned the ball over 18 times since the Panthers Week 7 bye as the Panthers have tumbled in the standings and lost seven of their past eight.
With Grier’s start, the Panthers will have started three quarterbacks in a season, the most since 2010 when they started Jimmy Clausen, Matt Moore and Brian St. Pierre.
“There’s different stuff going on, but at the end of the day, I have to put us in a position to help win the game and turning the ball over is not doing that,”.said Allen after the Panthers’ Week 15 loss. “I need to start putting us in a position to help win the game because what I’m doing now is not helping us win the game.”
With the Panthers out of contention and playing for a future that is on a much longer timeline than the next two weeks, the Panthers will turn to Grier to try and see what they have in the rookie – with questions swirling around Cam Newton’s future in Carolina and Allen having given enough of a sample size to show what kind of quarterback he can be in the NFL, it makes sense to turn to the rookie.
Grier will presumably get a full week of work with the first-team offense after spending most of the season with the scout team, where he’s been running the plays of the opposition’s offense each week – this has given him a chance to improve his voice and command in the huddle.
“I think I’ve gotten a lot better; [I’m] just trying to learn as much as I can,” said Grier last week. “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.”
Grier has learned a lot – hopefully, his reactions and reads during the game have slowed down for him since the preseason, where he was 34-of-61 for 385 yards with two touchdown passes and three interceptions.
“I think the biggest thing that you have to take into account, if you make a change, is that voice that speaks to you,” said Fewell. “When I see him on the look squad, his voice inflection is good – we ask him to do some hard counts, we ask him to do some things that opposing quarterbacks would do. His ability to scramble and throw on the run has gotten better, so he’s progressing as a rookie.”
“He’s not there, but he’s progressing.”
The Panthers will get the chance to see just how far he’s progressed this week.
