Vikings Waste No Time Adding New Quarterback
The Minnesota Vikings learned their lesson last year after various quarterback injuries, including games missed by Kirk Cousins, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall.
Vikings Waste No Time Adding New Quarterback
The club signed once-promising prospect Matt Corral on Friday, just one day before the club’s second preseason game of 2024, while formally placing rookie passer J.J. McCarthy on injured reserve.
McCarthy’s season is officially over, and he cannot return until 2025. The Vikings’ social media team tweeted, “The Vikings have signed former Panthers draft pick QB Matt Corral and placed J.J. McCarthy on injured reserve.”
The McCarthy confirmation arrives after two days of fans wondering about his official status. The young Wolverine had surgery earlier this week on a torn meniscus, but Minnesota did not immediately announce the expected IR move. If Minnesota had not placed McCarthy on IR, he could’ve returned sometime this season, probably in December or so. But the above tweet cancels that theory altogether.
On Corral, here’s his pro resume to date:
- Carolina Panthers (2022)
- New England Patriots (2023)
- Birmingham Stallions (2024)
- Minnesota Vikings (2024)
The Panthers unearthed Corral from the 3rd Round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and he never really took off. Many draft pundits featured the new Viking somewhat high on their draftboards, but when the rubber hit the road that April, he dipped to Round 3.
Corral has never thrown a pass in the regular season.
So, why Corral, and not a high-profile quarterback like Ryan Tannehill, who remains a free agent? Well, Josh McCown’s influence is pretty evident in the Vikings’ locker room. McCown began his coaching career one year ago with the Carolina Panthers, and Corral lived on the summer roster until depth chart trimdowns last August. Corral didn’t make the 53-man roster, instead becoming a Patriot — briefly. However, McCown must’ve seen something positive from Corral, evidenced by Friday’s free-agent move.
This is the Vikings quarterback depth chart after the Corral signing:
- Sam Darnold
- J.J. McCarthy (IR)
- Nick Mullens
- Jaren Hall
- Matt Corral
Bleacher Report described Corral leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft: “Corral is a fun player whose competitive play will fire up teammates and create yards out of thin air. He can flash ball placement when in rhythm, but he has benefited from an offense that lets him wait for his receivers to come open based on both design and the pockets created. He needs a lot of work with timing, anticipation and the true quarterback processes that are required of full-time NFL starting quarterbacks.”
If something happened injury-wise to Sam Darnold — like it did McCarthy — Minnesota might explore another quarterback addition via trade, not unlike Joshua Dobbs last year.
Corral is 6’1″ and turned 25 in January. His UFL team won the championship in June, though a different quarterback, Adrian Martinez, played quarterback in that league’s version of the Super Bowl.
Tom Brady Rumors Ignite for Vikings
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.