Quarterback Grier is waived
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Patriots waived third-string quarterback Will Grier on Saturday, a league source confirmed, eliminating one of their options to start Sunday against the Giants.
The move leaves Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe as the lone quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. Coach Bill Belichick has remained cagey about which will start Sunday.
Grier, who never took a game snap in his two months with the Patriots, had expressed confidence earlier this past week that he would be able to play in any capacity. His role in practice has primarily consisted of scoutteam reps, though offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien noted Tuesday that Grier also received some first-team reps ahead of the bye week.
“Whether you’re comfortable or not, you get called on, you’ve got to go play and figure out a way to win,” Grier said Wednesday. “That’s the mentality for me. I don’t know what’s going to happen. Injuries happen. You’ve seen it around the league — a lot of guys have had to step up and play. If I’ve got to step up and play, I’ll be ready to go.”
The 28-year-old Grier joined the Patriots in September after the team signed and waived quarterbacks Matt Corral and Ian Book. Grier is eligible to return as a member of the practice squad.
The Patriots also have college quarterback-turned-wide receiver Malik Cunningham available off the practice squad.
To fill Grier’s spot on the 53man roster, the Patriots signed offensive tackle Conor McDermott from the practice squad.
Douglas a bright spot
In a season with few offensive highlights, rookie receiver
Demario Douglas has been a bright spot.
The sixth-round pick out of Liberty has overcome early ballsecurity issues to become one of Jones’s most dependable targets. Douglas is tied for third on the team with 30 catches (on 46 targets) for 361 yards.
He trails only the injured
Kendrick Bourne (37 receptions) and running back Rhamondre Stevenson (32), and is tied with
Hunter Henry.
Douglas is second on the team with 12 yards per catch, and tied for second with Bourne for receptions that have gone for a first down (15).
Douglas is nearing the mark for most catches for a rookie in the Belichick era, set by Deion Branch in 2002 (43 receptions on 68 targets for 489 yards and a pair of touchdowns).
Branch posted those numThe bers in 13 games. Based on his recent production, it seems a safe bet Douglas will surpass Branch’s totals: Over the last three games, he has 16 catches for 164 yards.
Douglas said that while he hasn’t met Branch, he’s had the chance to watch some of his film and learn about his career via assistant coach Troy Brown, who was a teammate of Branch for four seasons. He also got an education on Branch from Cunningham, who knows Branch through his time at Louisville.
“Coach Troy and them always talk about him,” Douglas said of Branch, who is the director of player development and alumni relations for the Louisville football program. “He was a ballplayer.”
What does Brown tell Douglas about Branch as a player and teammate?
“He was like, ‘Deion was a heck of a player,’ ” Douglas said. “Definitely a dawg.” Stevenson rolling
One other member of the offense who has posted standout numbers lately is Stevenson. third-year running back, who finished with 1,040 rushing yards last season, has 482 this season, including 175 in the last two games.
Informed that he needs 518 yards — an average of 74 per game — the rest of the season to reach 1,000, Stevenson smiled.
“That’s big,” he said. “That’d be huge.”
If Stevenson succeeds, he’d be the first running back under Belichick to hit the 1,000-yard mark in back-to-back seasons.
He should have an excellent chance to add to those totals Sunday, as the Patriots are facing an occasionally leaky Giants defense that has allowed an average of 135.1 rushing yards per game, fifth most in the league.
“Getting rolling a little bit,” Stevenson said of his fitness level. “I feel great, especially after the bye. I feel like it was the perfect week to have a bye. The body feels fresh, and I’m ready to go.”