Patriots Place QB Matt Corral on Exempt/Left Squad List: What It Means?
FOXBORO — The New England Patriots added additional clarity, along with a bit of intrigue when it comes to their backup quarterback situation in advance of their Week 1 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Just hours after it was reported that they were signing second-year quarterback Bailey Zappe to its 53-man roster, the Pats confirmed that Matt Corral, who they claimed off waivers from the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 31, has been placed on the Exempt/Left Squad list.
Rumors surrounding Corral’s future with the Patriots began to swirl on Friday afternoon, when the Ole Miss product was absent for practice. The team later confirmed, via Friday’s injury report, that Corral’s absence was “not injury related.” The Boston Herald reported on Saturday evening that Corral had left the team on Friday “without notice,” explaining both his absentee designation.
The Exempt/Left Squad list allows the team to open up a roster spot without formally releasing him. In turn, Corral is unable to sign with another team until the designation has been lifted. He can, however, return to the Patriots at any time.
The Panthers’ third-round pick in 2022 missed his entire rookie season with a Lisfranc injury suffered during a preseason matchup against New England at Gillette Stadium.
In spite of his rather thin pro-level resume, Corral’s skill set had intrigued both coach Bill Belichick and coordinator Bill O’Brien for quite some time. Having served under coach Lane Kiffin during his collegiate career at Ole Miss, the 24-year-old ran the Rebels’ spread RPO system at a high-level. Ironically, Jones also ran an RPO-heavy scheme during his time at Alabama under coach Nick Saban. Kiffin served as offensive coordinator under Saban from 2014-16. While the coaching tree connection between the two does not guarantee that he will recapture his collegiate success in New England, Corral’s familiarity with O’Brien’s offense was expected to help him conquer the Patriots’ learning curve sooner than expected.
Though Corral participated in a handful of practices with the Pats, Belichick and the coaching staff seemed hesitant to anoint Corral as Mac Jones’ full-time understudy. Unfortunately, his absence from Friday’s practice seemed to indicate that a changing of the guard below Jones on the quarterback depth chart was imminent.
New England will now head into their season-opener with the same quarterback depth chart with Jones as the first option, Zappe as the second option, and Cunningham on the practice squad.
Kickoff between the Pats and Eagles is set for 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday from Gillette Stadium.
