Matt Corral Identifies What Needs Fixed Following First Game in Nearly a Year

Carolina's 2022 third-round pick makes his way back to the field.

It's been nearly a full calendar year since Carolina Panthers quarterback Matt Corral played in a game. The last time out, he was trying to prove that he could be the potential future of the franchise while learning under Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold.

Unfortunately, his rookie season came to an end before it really ever got off the ground. Corral suffered a Lisfranc injury in a preseason game against the New England Patriots, forcing him to miss the remainder of the year.

Saturday, Corral took the field for the first time and had the look of a quarterback who was trying to shake the rust off after a year. He played well at times, but also missed some throws and held onto the ball on a few occasions which led to some sacks.

"I thought Matt showed some flashes," said head coach Frank Reich. "We will have to look at the film overall to kind of weigh and see why we didn’t score, why we didn’t get the ball down in there more often."

Corral completed 15-of-22 passes for 126 yards and an interception. He also fumbled the ball twice on one drive, the second of which was recovered by the Jets. The first fumble stemmed from the center not hearing the cadence and Corral took responsibility for it. "That's on me. I've got to be louder." The second fumble came on a strip-sack from Bruce Hector.

It may not have been the kind of game Corral had hoped for, but he's just thankful to be able to be back on the field playing the game he loves. 

"It felt good. It felt good to finally get back out there and be out there with the guys. Bullets are flying, you get that adrenaline rush, and it was good. It was good to be back. (There’s) a lot of stuff to clean up.

"I was anxious (for) the first two snaps, but after that first series, finally getting back into the rhythm of things, I definitely missed that feeling of I may or may not get hit this rep, (and then) I’m live. I haven’t played football really since last August. It’s a long time. Again, it’s not an excuse for me making mistakes, I’ve got to do my job, but like I said (I’m) blessed to be out there and (I’m) going to get on the film and fix what was wrong."

The one thing I noticed from the press box was Corral missing several checkdown opportunities, keeping his eyes on the routes further downfield. There was one play in particular where he had Tommy Tremble wide open on a drag route on third down and never looked his way. 

Corral owned up to it saying he needs to "clean up his eyes."

"I’ve got to clean up my eyes if we’re being honest. A lot of guys in the locker room, the o-line, were coming up to me saying they could make it a lot easier, but it’s my job to get the ball out and at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what they do. I can help them a lot more just by cleaning up my eyes and making quicker decisions.

"Just getting my eyes on the right defender. Especially when things don’t happen the way you think they’re going to happen. Specifically one that I can see in my head right now. I got sacked and there was a guy wide open in the flat. I saw man, they went to a different one, and I just have to clean up my eyes, (make a) quicker decision (and we) probably would have a first down right there instead of three-and out."

Corral will have several more opportunities in the team's final two preseason games against the Giants and Lions. Bryce Young will likely be held out of the final preseason game, meaning Corral could run the show for 75% of the snaps, if not more.

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