Will Grier appeared and sounded as though his final act with the Dallas Cowboys was throwing for 305 yards while being directed by star quarterback Dak Prescott.
As the fifth-year player put it, it was “bittersweet.”
Grier scored four touchdowns in the Cowboys’ 31-16 preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night, a day after the Cowboys looked to fill his third-string spot by acquiring Trey Lance in a deal with San Francisco.
Grier threw 29 of 35 throws for two touchdowns and ran for 54 yards for two more in a likely Dallas swan song after two seasons behind backup Cooper Rush and not taking a regular-season snap.
Grier was distraught before the game, according to owner Jerry Jones, because he knew what the Lance deal meant for his future. Grier acknowledged this after the game, pausing numerous times to collect himself while addressing reporters’ questions.
“To be honest, the hardest part for me is just leaving this place,” Grier remarked. “I became really close to the team. That is the most difficult aspect of what we do. I’ve been through worse, and I’ll recover and be OK.”
