With the team’s second preseason contest set to take place tomorrow, the Minnesota Vikings have added another quarterback to the roster.
The Vikings have announced that they have signed Matt Corral, and in order to make room for him they have officially placed rookie J.J. McCarthy on injured reserve.
With the Vikings placing McCarthy on IR now, I believe that squashes any potential chance for him to be designated for return in 2024, unless I’m misinterpreting the rule. I think in order to have the ability to bring McCarthy back they would have had to wait until final cuts are made on 27 August, but if I’m wrong I’ll make a correction.
Corral was a third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in the 2022 NFL Draft. He suffered a Lisfranc injury during his rookie year and was placed on injured reserve, causing him to miss his entire rookie year. In 2023, Corral initially made the Panthers’ 53-man roster but was waived the day after final cuts were announced. He was then claimed by the New England Patriots and did not report to their facilities, eventually being released.
From there, Corral signed with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL. He started three games for the Stallions, putting together a 3-0 record while completing 58.1% of his passes for 494 yards along with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Frankly, I’d be stunned if Corral turned out to be anything more than a body to potentially take some reps in the third preseason game for the Vikings. He certainly won’t be ready to play in tomorrow’s game against the Cleveland Browns. After losing McCarthy, the Vikings are likely going to put Sam Darnold in bubble wrap or cryogenic storage or something until Week 1 of the regular season, and somebody will have to play quarterback the next two Saturdays.
Welcome to Minnesota, Matt Corral!
