New Patriots QB Familiar With System From College Days

The New England Patriots signed Will Grier to the active roster Thursday, making him just the latest No. 3 quarterback to be brought in behind starter Mac Jones and backup Bailey Zappe.

Grier might have a head start the others didn’t, though.

New England rostered Trace McSorley throughout training camp, but cut him as the regular season approached. The Patriots then claimed Matt Corral after initial cuts, before his tenure came to a tumultuous end and Ian Book was brought in for a short stint on the practice squad.

In Grier, the Patriots are hoping to find some stability at QB3.

They just might get it, too, as the 28-year-old has some familiarity with New England’s offensive system due to his time at the University of West Virginia.

“Honestly, Jake Spavital, my (offensive coordinator) at West Virginia, watched a lot of Patriots film and built our offense off a lot of what they (do),” Grier told NESN.com in 2019. “Obviously, different terminology, but we would see stuff and be like, ‘We’re going to do that.’ Tom Brady does all right. So, we watched a lot of Tom Brady film.”

Brady, of course, is no longer the starter, but the Patriots have a notable holdover from his days as starter: offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.

O’Brien’s return to New England has yielded mixed results, with the Patriots’ offense struggling to put together a full 60-minute effort. That, of course, could have something to do with the fact they underwent a near-overhaul of the system after a disastrous season under Matt Patricia — keeping aspects of O’Brien’s and Josh McDaniels’ playbooks from their time in Foxboro.

Grier met with the Patriots during the pre-draft process, but was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the third round before backing up the likes of Cam Newton, Dak Prescott and Joe Burrow over the last four seasons.

Jones will be the next QB added to that list, as the Patriots expect to use Grier as an emergency quarterback in their Week 3 matchup with the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.