After surprisingly waiving quarterback Bailey Zappe earlier this week leaving Mac Jones as the one quarterback on the active roster, many wondered what the New England Patriots planned to do for Jones’ backup.
While Zappe cleared waivers and is on New England’s practice squad, it appears, per Ian Rapoport, that Matt Corral will be backing up Jones.
Source: The #Patriots have claimed former #Panthers QB Matt Corral.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 31, 2023
The Panthers selected Corral in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and it appeared that he would be second or third on the team’s depth chart last season, but suffered a foot injury in the preseason that landed him on injured reserve for the entire season.
Corral played his college football at Ole Miss. While his first two years in Oxford were spent primarily as a backup, he found success in 2020 under new head coach Lane Kiffin. In October 2020, Corral tied the single-game passing touchdown record set by Eli Manning with six, and then in November, he set the Ole Miss single-game record for passing yards in a game with 510 yards in the team’s 59-42 win over South Carolina.
Corral added another element to his game in the 2021 season when he rushed for 11 touchdowns in addition to throwing for 20. His strong senior year performance saw Corral be named to the All-SEC second team, the first Ole Miss quarterback since Chad Kelly in 2016.
