Minnesota Vikings waive Matt Corral ahead of roster deadline
Matt Corral was hoping to make a name for himself in the NFL with his latest opportunity in Minnesota, after he inked a contract with the Vikings following the season-ending injury J.J. McCarthy suffered.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the fit wasn’t a solid one, as the franchise decided to cut the former Ole Miss quarterback on Monday, following the conclusion of the NFL Preseason. Now, Corral will once again be on the open market.
The #Vikings made their first wave of cuts, including waiving QB Matt Corral and releasing veteran CB A.J. Green III,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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More on the Minnesota Vikings QB situation
After he had surgery to repair a torn meniscus, the Minnesota Vikings placed J.J. McCarthy on injured reserve. That led them to signing former Ole Miss and Carolina Panthers quarterback Matt Corral in a corresponding move at the time.
McCarthy made his lone preseason appearance in the opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, but missed practice with knee soreness afterward. Testing later showed a torn meniscus and he underwent season-ending surgery as a result, meaning the Vikings had to find a new backup for Sam Darnold.
That led them to Corral, whom the Panthers selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He immediately was placed on injured reserve after suffering a Lisfranc injury and spent last season playing in the UFL with the Birmingham Stallions.
McCarthy will now find himself on the sidelines for his rookie season after previously looking to challenge Darnold for the starting quarterback job. In fact, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell didn’t rule out the possibility of the former Michigan star getting the nod in Week 1.
Instead, McCarthy underwent surgery. He had a message to Minnesota fans after making the decision to do so, as well.
“Love you Viking nation,” McCarthy wrote, when it was first revealed he had a torn meniscus. “I’ll be back in no time. Amor fati.”
In his lone preseason action, McCarthy went 11 of 17 passing for 188 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He showed some good signs as he transitioned to the NFL level, and he’ll now get to look on this year and kickstart his career in 2025.
On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.