Matt Corral’s Carousel Ride in New England is Over

Matt Corral‘s time as a member of the New England Patriots was brief, but not dull. Just three weeks ago, the former Ole Miss QB was signed off waivers by New England. The Patriots kept only one quarterback on their original 53-man roster, so claiming Corral made sense. He was in good position to battle Bailey Zappe, then on the practice squad, to emerge as QB2 behind Mac Jones in New England. Unfortunately for all parties involved, things took a few strange turns between then and now.

Prior to the Patriots season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, Bailey Zappe was elevated to the 53-man roster. Meanwhile, Matt Corral went missing. It was reported that following practice on the Thursday before the opener, Corral went AWOL. New England supposedly was unable to find him for two days, and thus placed him on the “Exempt/Left Squad” list. This designation was only possible because of Corral making himself unavailable. He was not an active member of the Patriots roster, but no other NFL team could claim him either.

After the initial about the Patriots being unable to find one of their players, focus quickly shifted to the players in uniform once games began. Zappe served as a Mac Jones’ primary backup for each of the first two games. Rookie Malik Cunningham was the lone Patriots practice squad QB, eventually joined by Ian Book. Corral continued to sit with his “Exempt/Left Squad” designation.

Yesterday there was finally some new news about Matt Corral. The Patriots removed his designation, meaning they needed to waive him or place him on the active roster. New England chose to waive both Corral and Book. Reports then came out that Corral would be joining the practice squad, in essence taking Book’s spot, after clearing waivers.

In the end however, Matt Corral changed course and opted not to sign back with New England. The initial thought was that he might be returning to his former team, the Panthers, but Carolina then signed QB Jake Lutton to their practice squad. What is next for Matt Corral? That is unclear. But whatever it is will likely not be as a part of the New England Patriots organization.