Will Grier will become the 18th starting quarterback in the 25-year history of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Indianapolis.
Grier also will become the very first Carolina starting quarterback who grew up in the Charlotte area, owned multiple Steve Smith jerseys and sat in Section 229 at Bank of America Stadium for years cheering on his hometown team.
It sounds like a movie.
It will sound less like one if Grier throws four interceptions Sunday and the Panthers _ losers of their past six games in a row _ get pounded by the Indianapolis Colts.
But what if he wins? What if Grier _ who started the year as Carolina's No. 3 quarterback and now has ascended to No. 1 due to Cam Newton's injury and Kyle Allen's benching _ actually has a chance to become the Panthers quarterback of the future?
The Panthers (5-9) have nothing left to lose this season but a little more pride, and so sticking in their 2019 third-round draft choice and letting him fire away makes sense. You have to figure out what you've got, and no one really knows what that is yet with Grier.
We do know Grier can throw the ball, though.
"I love his arm," Panthers interim head coach Perry Fewell said. "He's got a cannon, OK?"
Grier's decision-making? That's what everyone wonders about. As Grier joked Thursday about his two collegiate seasons at West Virginia: "A lot of my West Virginia tape is me throwing the ball downfield on almost every play. That's not necessarily going to work in the NFL."
In the preseason, Grier was outplayed by Allen. Grier turned the ball over four times in exhibition games, threw two touchdown passes and sometimes seemed flummoxed by the speed of NFL defenders.
That contributed to Allen starting Carolina's previous 12 games this season once Newton went down with a Lisfranc foot injury. Allen won his first four, but has gone 1-7 since then this season as a starter while the Panthers' playoff hopes crumbled into oblivion. Turnovers became Allen's main issue.
Now comes the 24-year-old Grier _ who, although a rookie, is actually 11 months older than Allen because of a convoluted college career that spanned two teams, one suspension and one redshirt season. Said Grier Thursday, when he was officially announced as the Carolina starter: "It feels awesome. ... I'm obviously excited and just ready to go."
