Watch out, Will Grier. The Panthers are doing their homework on some late-round prospects who could threaten his status as the team’s No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart behind Teddy Bridgewater and P.J. Walker.
Last week, it was reported by the Athletic that Carolina held a video call with Northern Colorado QB Jacob Knipp, who is projected to be either a late Day 3 pick or an undrafted free agent. On Monday, we learned of another similar meeting.
According to Tony Pauline at Pro Football Network, the Panthers held a video conference with Ben DiNucci from James Madison. So have the Patriots and Bears.
“For some reason, DiNucci was snubbed from all the postseason All-Star events. He has had numerous video conferences with the New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, and Chicago Bears.”
Again, the level of competition is a bit low for your average QB prospect, but DiNucci’s numbers since transferring from Pitt were interesting. Last season, he completed 268 of 378 pass attempts (70.9%), averaging 9.1 yards per attempt and totaling 29 touchdowns to go with six interceptions.
If the Panthers do wind up drafting or signing one of these small school QBs, there’s a good chance Grier could be on his way out. It will be interesting to see if they can get any team to bite on a trade for Grier, even though he bombed as a rookie.
