FRISCO, Texas — It's been a bit of a homecoming year for the Dallas Cowboys in 2024. From the reunion with running back Ezekiel Elliott to the one with defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, there's a theme developing this season, and the return of quarterback Will Grier feeds into that storyline — though it's not under the best of circumstances.
Grier returns to Dallas' practice squad on the heels of a 3-6 record, Dak Prescott being lost for the season and, given the strength of their friendship that was developed over the course of their first stint together, the latter is something that hits hard for the former third-round pick.
"First off, my message to Dak is just that I'm praying for him and wishing for his speedy recovery," said Grier. He is one of the strongest guys I know and I'm not worried about him bouncing back better. That's just what he does, and this kind of stuff makes you stronger."
Prescott will remain highly involved in game planning and development within the quarterback room, both in the meeting rooms and on the sideline, and that does at least guarantee the two will remain connected going into each of the final eight regular season contests.
"I'm excited to be with him every step of the way in his recovery, and try to help push him and make him better and vice versa — just excited to work with him again," Grier added.
It's been a bit of a whirlwind the last two seasons for the 29-year-old, having parted ways with the Cowboys just ahead of the 2023 season, going out with an absolute bang in the preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.
His final game with the Cowboys, at that time, saw Grier throw for 302 yards with two passing touchdowns (122.0 passer rating) while adding another 53 rushing yards on 10 carries with two rushing touchdowns.
Since then, he's spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles, all in the span of only 27 months.
The silver lining is that such a journey has allowed Grier to evolve as a quarterback, especially having spent time learning from Bill Belichick.
"Yeah, I'm a little bit more seasoned," he said with a smile. "Just more experience being in different systems, seeing different defenses, different guys' game plans. I have a different appreciation for a lot of that stuff and just more knowledge just being in the league for two more years and, especially with my role in Philadelphia, as kind of an extra coach, almost definitely helped me as a player."
This is the version of Grier that returns to the Cowboys in 2024.
"I think the main thing I bring, right now, is I'm just trying to bring some good vibes to this locker room," he explained. "I just want to come in here and enjoy everybody, to enjoy the opportunity to play football games for the Cowboys and try to win some games. That's the main thing that I want to bring right now — is just some gratitude and appreciation for this opportunity the good Lord has given us."
"... I think [the familiarity with the system and players] is huge. Even Day 1, today, it kind of comes back as you go and definitely the familiarity, the comfortability with some of these guys helps a lot. I've just got to be ready. It definitely doesn't feel like going to a brand new place, which is good."
So you could say it's like, well, coming home?
"In a way, yeah," he said, the aforementioned smile now stretching from ear to ear.
