The only thing that may have stood in the way of a reunion between Matt Corral and the Carolina Panthers was the very team who helped unite them in the first place.
According to MMQB senior NFL reporter Albert Breer, the New England Patriots were the only team to put a waiver claim in on the 24-year-old quarterback by Thursday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline. Corral, of course, would be awarded to New England after the Panthers parted ways with their 2022 third-round pick on Wednesday.
Buy Panthers TicketsThe Patriots were the only team to put in a claim on QB Matt Corral. New England had great intel on him, given Bill O'Brien's relationship with Lane Kiffin, and having ex-Panthers VP Pat Stewart on staff.
Pats execs Matt Groh and Eliot Wolf did a ton of work on him too in '22.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 1, 2023
As noted by Breer, Corral might’ve already had a few fans in the building over at Foxboro—even despite if those fans helped the Panthers land him in the 2022 NFL draft. And ironically enough, that’s exactly where his rookie campaign came to an abrupt halt—as he sustained a season-ending Lisfranc injury in the Panthers’ preseason matchup with the Patriots last summer.
Since then, the former Ole Miss star has appeared in three exhibition outings—having completed 28 of his 47 passing attempts for 249 yards and an interception. That work, and what preceded it, seemed to be enough for New England.
