Will Grier is adapting well to life as a Stepford Patriot.
The third-string quarterback was asked whether he received any first-team reps in practice on Tuesday. In response, he said nothing.
“I’ll let them tell you how the reps are divvied up,” Grier said, via NBC Sports Boston. “I’m not going to be the one to do that.”
On Monday, offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien said Grier had gotten some reps with the starting offense. On Tuesday, coach Bill Belichick was asked about that development.
“Well, last week, we had an opportunity to kind of give the guys who didn’t play as much an opportunity to run more of our stuff, less stuff off guards and scout-team things,” Belichick told reporters. “So that was true for everybody across the board. We didn’t work on any scout-team plays, we just ran our plays. So, everybody got to run what we ran. We had some guys who were out there, some guys weren’t out there. A lot of the guys who have played a lot didn’t practice as much.”
Belichick won’t disclose his Week 12 starter. Most coaches don’t realize that it becomes impossible to keep players and/or staff members from leaking the manner in which the practice reps are divided among the various quarterback options — Grier, Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe.
Belichick is one of the few who can pull it off. Because he always has.
As his power slips and his likely final days with the team unfold, it will be interesting to see if he still has his full-silence fastball.