Buffalo, NY – Long after the cheers faded and the pads came off, a former Buffalo Bills center still reports to work at Highmark Stadium — not to block defenders, but to care for the very field he once protected.
Now 71 years old, he begins each day before sunrise, helping the grounds crew maintain the turf that has seen generations of Bills players come and go. For him, it’s not about nostalgia — it’s about belonging.
That man is Will Grant, who played for the Buffalo Bills from 1978 to 1985, anchoring the offensive line through years of rebuilding and resilience. While never a headline star, he was the kind of steady professional every great team needs.
Grant appeared in 111 career games and started 91, serving as the reliable snapper for a rotation of quarterbacks during one of Buffalo’s most transitional eras. His toughness and consistency earned quiet respect inside the locker room.
Teammates called him “The Rock” — not for flashy plays, but for the stability he brought to a franchise still finding its identity before the Super Bowl years of the 1990s.
After his retirement in the mid-1980s, Grant stayed in upstate New York, working various community jobs before eventually returning to Highmark Stadium, the place that felt most like home.
Today, he can be seen walking the field with a rake in hand, fixing divots and checking the turf before each home game. When asked why, he just smiles and says it keeps him close to the game that shaped his life.
For Will Grant, the roar of the Buffalo crowd still carries the same warmth it did 40 years ago — a reminder that once you’ve been a Bill, you always are.
