The Patriots are back up to three quarterbacks, but it's not a return of Matt Corral that got them there. Corral was reportedly expected to sign to the Patriots' practice squad earlier this week, but that wound up not actually panning out.
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Instead, the new quarterback is Will Grier. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Thursday evening that New England is signing Grier to its active roster, meaning the Patriots will now have Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe and Grier on their active roster.
Grier was most recently on the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad. He spent the preseason with the Dallas Cowboys, but was released after they traded for Trey Lance.
Grier, 28, spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons in Dallas as well, but never appeared in a regular-season game. He was on the gameday roster for five games last season as the backup to Cooper Rush while Dak Prescott was out injured.
Coincidentally, or perhaps not so coincidentally, the Patriots face the Cowboys next week, so it's possible Grier could provide some insight on his former team.
The move also has the side effect of leaving the 0-2 Bengals thin at quarterback, with starter Joe Burrow nursing a calf injury and looking like a question mark for this week. Grier's departure for Foxborough leaves Jake Browning as the only other quarterback in Cincinnati.
Grier's only NFL regular-season action came in 2019 when he was with the Carolina Panthers. He went 0-2 in a pair of starts, throwing for 228 yards, zero touchdowns and four interceptions.