After spending 2025 with Cowboys, former 3rd-round QB retires from NFL at age 31

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Will Grier put in a lot of work to make the most of his NFL career.

In the end, it never quite worked out for the journeyman quarterback who played the 2025 season with the Dallas Cowboys before joining the Carolina Panthers this offseason.

Grier decided rather than continue his career, he's retiring.

The announcement came on Wednesday. Grier steps away from the NFL at 31 years old.

"Will Grier came back to his hometown team three months ago, but his comeback won't continue into training camp," the Panthers wrote on their official team website. "The veteran quarterback has chosen to retire. The Panthers placed him on the reserve/retired list on Wednesday."

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The Cowboys had decided in March to cut Grier, just before free agency began. With Dak Prescott, Joe Milton and Sam Howell on board, Grier became surplus.

Grier spent last summer with the Cowboys and then was on the practice squad for the entire season.

He signed a futures contract with Dallas in February, which set him up to stick around for the offseason, but he was then released and was now on a new contract with Carolina.

Grier was a third-round draft pick by the Panthers out of West Virginia in 2019.

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His only two NFL games came in that rookie season with Carolina. He started twice and lost both games.

Across those two starts, he was 28-for-52 passing (53.8%) for 228 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions.

Grier has since spent various periods with the Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys and the Panthers.

And now, he moves into the next chapter of his life.