ARLINGTON, Texas – In an audition for the 31 other NFL franchises, Will Grier shined during what are expected to be his final snaps for the Dallas Cowboys.
Grier entered the preseason finale with nothing to lose within the building, after Dallas traded a fourth-round pick to San Francisco for quarterback Trey Lance Friday. Prompting an inspired and re-focused performance from the fifth-year gunslinger.
Just one week after walking off the field without a postgame handshake in Seattle, he was all smiles after throwing for 305 yards and finding the endzone four times.
"At the end of the day I just relied on the fact that I know how to play football," Grier said. "And I'm good at it. I knew when the game started, I could just play football, and that's what I did.
Possibly the most impressive aspect of Grier's stat line? He finished turnover free and tallied a completion percentage over 82 percent. He clearly managed the offense with confidence and showed better decision making than his underwhelming showing in Seattle.
Following the 31-16 win over Las Vegas, Grier stood emotional and teary-eyed in the locker room as he bid farewell to the Cowboys organization. Another reflection of just how much the 28-year-old poured into his final preseason performance.
"I think my play speaks for itself," Grier said. "I'm a team-first guy…at the end of the day it's a numbers thing. It's just part of the job I signed up for. It's hard, it's tough, because you get close to people. But at the same time, I'm going to be just fine. Everybody is going to be fine."
Even starting quarterback Dak Prescott, who called the plays for the Dallas offense Saturday night, had plenty to say about Grier's phenomenal finale.
"That man just played his ass off. That's who Will is," Dak said. "That's who Will's been since the time he's been here. It was awesome that he got to go out there and put that performance on display and hope the rest of the league saw that and took notice."
Now that his final preseason snaps are accounted for, Grier's next career move is completely out of his control. It appears Dallas remains set on Grier's departure after the recent acquisition of Lance, leaving it up to all the other NFL organizations to find his services useful.
If his Saturday-night performance is any indication, there should be plenty of interest from around the league.
