According to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, the Panthers are expected to play rookie Will Grier at quarterback on Sunday against the Colts. If so, it will be his first career start.
Kyle Allen started the previous 14 games for Carolina in the wake of Cam Newton’s season-ending foot injury. While Allen showed some confidence during his early win streak, he also struggled in a number of areas – specifically turnovers. Instead of improving, the problem has gotten worse as the season goes on. In addition to throwing 15 interceptions, Allen has fumbled the ball 13 times.
While Grier did not look particularly sharp during the preseason, he deserves a chance to show he can improve. If Grier has improved his processing speed and can show the same touch on deep passes that he did in college, he could be a more dynamic passer than Allen.
Carolina fans should probably tempter their expectations, though. The fact that it took this long for the organization to make the change does not indicate Grier has shown a ton of promise behind the scenes.
Time will tell. At the very least, the Panthers will get a clearer picture of their QB situation for 2020.
Update:
Joe Person has confirmed the team plans to start Grier this week.
