The New England Patriots are signing Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Will Grier to their active roster, per a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The move is a huge blow to the Bengals, leaving them with one healthy quarterback for Monday night’s game against the Rams as starter Joe Burrow deals with a calf injury that kept him out of practice today.
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Jake Browning is in line to get the start after winning the backup job by beating out Trevor Siemian in training camp. Siemian would be the most likely quarterback the Bengals would target, given his knowledge of the playbook, but he declined an invitation to stick around on the practice squad, so his agreeing to come back to Cincinnati is not a given.
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Reid Sinnett, whom the Bengals signed after Burrow injured his calf on July 27, also could be an option.
The Bengals signed Grier to their practice squad on Aug. 30, one day after cutting Siemian and Sinnett and one day after the Dallas Cowboys cut Grier in the wake of their trade for Trey Lance.
Why Will Grier picked the #Bengals over several other offers: https://t.co/2ROWCwqikR pic.twitter.com/Jfdhip5dM8
— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison)
Head coach Zac Taylor said earlier today in his pre-practice news conference that he has been impressed with Grier’s three-week speed-reading of the playbook.
“He’s done a great job trying to accelerate it,” Taylor said. “I just saw him with (quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher) going over it again, so he’s doing a great job, doing everything he can to prepare himself.
“The challenging part when you get a guy at the start of the season is you’re past the install phase of things, and you’re into the game plan thing. So it’s not the nuts and bolts of the offense. Now it’s game-planning for Cleveland and Baltimore and LA.
“So what we’d ask our other quarterbacks to do because of their time on task is a little bit different. But I enjoy being around him. He’s what we thought he was when we got him. And we’ll continue to evaluate him as we go.”
