Unfortunately for Panthers rookie quarterback Matt Corral, he won’t have the opportunity to play at all this season. After suffering an injury to his left foot during Friday’s preseason game against the Patriots, the Panthers announced earlier today that they will be shutting him down for the season.
Per the Panthers’ press release:
“Matt Corral‘s development this season will have to be from the classroom only.
The rookie quarterback was placed on injured reserve Monday, officially ending his season.
To have left open the possibility of him returning this year, they’d have had to keep him on the 53-man roster through final cuts before putting him on IR. Teams can bring back up to eight players from IR this year once the season starts, after they miss a minimum of four weeks. But the medical realities of Corral’s injury suggest that a comeback this season was not likely.
Corral suffered a Lisfranc injury in his left foot during Friday’s preseason game at New England and is still exploring his options with the medical staff and outside doctors.”
The original plan for the Panthers this season was to ease him into his first NFL season by keeping him as the third-string quarterback behind Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. But if both veterans struggled, Panthers fans likely would have been clamoring to see the rookie get some NFL action.
After the injury, Panthers head coach Matt Rhule expressed his disappointment in losing the rookie in a key developmental year.
“I hate it for him. I hate it any time one of our guys is hurt,” Rhule said. “And I thought he was playing well too. I left him in that situation backed up, because I wanted him to have that, hey here’s the crowd, here’s the noise. But I thought I saw a lot of really nice signs early in the game. Found some guys that were open, and did some good things.
“I know Matt’s a battler, so this year of development, he’s going to have to grind, both taking care of his foot and all the things he needs to do as a quarterback. Hopefully some day, he’ll look back and say it was a blessing, but I hate it for him right now.”
After the injury to Matt Corral, the Panthers could slot in PJ Walker as their third quarterback heading into the season.
