We love a good underdog story.
As announced on Friday, the Minnesota Vikings have signed former Carolina Panthers quarterback Matt Corral. The 25-year-old now returns to the NFL after a brief stint for the United Football League’s Birmingham Stallions this past spring.
The Ole Miss standout was selected by the Panthers in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft. Carolina, in a deal with the New England Patriots, traded up into the draft’s 94th overall spot to corral Corral under former head coach Matt Rhule.
Unfortunately, he (like Rhule) did not stick around long in Charlotte. Corral sustained a Lisfranc fracture during the preseason of his rookie campaign and would eventually be waived by the Panthers before the start of the 2023 season.
Corral would then be claimed, surely enough, by the Patriots—who would cut ties with him just a few weeks later.
Birmingham came calling in February 2024, right ahead of the UFL’s inaugural season. Corral helped push the Stallions to the league’s title game with an impressive relief appearance in the conference championship round.
With first-round pick J.J. McCarthy having been placed on the season-ending injured reserve due to a knee injury, Corral rejoins another former Panthers passer in Sam Darnold to help patch up Minnesota’s quarterback room.
