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Quarterback Matt Corral, formerly of the Carolina Panthers.

The Minnesota Vikings have added a fourth quarterback to their roster after rookie JJ McCarthy underwent season-ending knee surgery.

Minnesota signed Matt Corral, a former third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers who also played for the New England Patriots, on Friday, August 16.

Corral, 25, has never made a regular season appearance in the NFL, despite the Panthers selecting him with the No. 94 overall pick in the 2022 draft. Part of that equation was a foot injury during his rookie season that landed him on the injured list (IR).

Carolina replaced head coach Matt Rhule and the regime that was at the helm when the Panthers hired Corral, which led to his release in late August 2023, just before the start of last season. He spent time on the Patriots’ practice squad but never played in a game.

According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, Corral also spent some time outside of the NFL, joining the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions before landing in Minnesota.

Vikings make clear statements about Sam Darnold and Nick Mullens and sign Matt Corral

GettyQuarterback Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings.

Corral will compete with Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall – Minnesota’s current second and third quarterbacks – for a spot behind starter Sam Darnold.

Darnold signed a one-year deal with the Vikings this offseason to serve as a stopgap until McCarthy can take over the role full-time sometime during or after the 2024 season. The meniscus tear McCarthy suffered on August 10 in the first preseason game of his career against the Las Vegas Raiders has anchored Darnold in the QB1 role – at least for the start of the year.

Mullens is a veteran reserve with 20 career appearances (5-15) who appeared in five games for Minnesota last season despite a back injury that kept him out of action for several weeks early on.

The offense was relatively successful with Mullens as quarterback, as he accumulated over 1,300 passing yards and 7 TDs. However, he also threw 8 interceptions and led the Vikings to an 0-3 record as a starter.

Hall got two chances to start. In Week 9, he played a solid first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons before a concussion sidelined him and he subsequently lost the QB1 spot to Josh Dobbs, who is now with the San Francisco 49ers.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell removed Mullens from the starting lineup prior to Week 17 due to his turnover issues. Hall was then given the nod in a must-win game against the Green Bay Packers, but the coaching staff pulled him from the game in favor of Mullens after completing just 10 passes.

Minnesota lost the game by a landslide and was officially eliminated from the race for the playoffs.

The Vikings will have to face serious questions about the quarterback if Sam Darnold gets injured and plays poorly

GettyQuarterback Nick Mullens of the Minnesota Vikings.

Corral is an interesting choice considering he is neither familiar with the Vikings offense nor has any regular season experience with any franchise.

Evidence suggests that Corral is in training camp to keep both Mullens and Hall on their toes, and to actually compete with Hall for the third quarterback job.

The Vikings are parting ways with Kirk Cousins, a six-year starter, this season, and McCarthy, selected No. 10 in April, remains the clear favorite at the position. Still, the team has made moves in the offseason that show its intent to compete in the NFC North division this year.

So it’s hard to imagine that decision-makers would want to hand the keys to the offense to Corral, a player who joined them in mid-August and has never played in the NFL.

If Darnold is out, Mullens is the clear favorite for a starting position. However, an injury or poor play from Darnold could prompt the Vikings to sign a veteran free agent starter like Ryan Tannehill after cobbling together a 2023 season in which the team started four different QBs in 17 games.

Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and national news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and was news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible