Matt Corral Shakes up Vikings QB Room
The Minnesota Vikings would start Sam Darnold during Week 1 against the New York Giants, no matter what. J.J. McCarthy could have pushed the envelope, but the veteran always made sense out of the gate. The rookie is now gone, and Matt Corral has been added to shake up the quarterback room.
Matt Corral Shakes up Vikings QB Room
It doesn’t make much sense for the Vikings to go out and find another starter at the position. Sam Darnold will sink or swim under Kevin O’Connell, and any career resurgence he hopes for depends on it. It does make sense to add some depth, though, because the rookie won’t be taking over in 2024.
We saw enough of both Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens last season to know neither are options you want to see on the field. Although Mullens didn’t play in the preseason opener, Hall did, and it was ugly. Matt Corral gives O’Connell another look at a possible option to round out the room, and he should be better than the bottom of the barrel.
There was a time when Corral was seen as a potential first-round pick. Similar to Darnold, he played for the Carolina Panthers and quickly flamed out. Corral led his team to the UFL Championship this season and now gets a shot in a much better environment. It’s unlikely he’ll see the field against the Cleveland Browns this weekend, but he could take Hall’s spot during the final preseason game.
If Minnesota wants a better backup plan behind Darnold, then there are several options they could still consider. The bar to clear would undoubtedly be higher than Corral, but for now, this is a sensible move. One would hope that Corral can show better than Hall did during preseason action, and if the Vikings were to carry three quarterbacks, he would be among the group.
Replacing Nick Mullens could still happen, and that will take some sorting out. Like the situation last year, if Darnold goes down as a starter, Minnesota will be in a whole world of hurt.
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Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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