While Matt Corral never took a snap with the New England Patriots, his brief time with the team was certainly an adventure.
The Patriots claimed the former Ole Miss signal-caller off waivers before the 2023 season, but he never appeared in a game. After New England released Bailey Zappe, it appeared he’d start the season as the backup behind then-Patriots QB Mac Jones.
However, Corral essentially ghosted the organization and was eventually placed on the exempt list. The Patriots released him a couple of weeks later, and there really hasn’t been much light shed on how or why it all went down the way it did — until now.
Corral appeared on the “Built 4 More” podcast recently to discuss his wild journey, and he opened up about his time in Foxboro.
“Through all that turmoil, through all that chaos that even was self-inflicted or things that happened to me and I didn’t even know how to maneuver through,” Corral said on the podcast. “That whole situation, man, it was mental implosion.”
Matt Corral Opens Up About Chaotic Patriots Run
Corral also revealed he was dealing with a lot of mental anguish at the time, and that reached a tipping point in the weight room. He explained on the podcast that he has learned how to train his body in a way that made him an effective quarterback, saying something like squatting heavy weight didn’t adequately prepare him to throw a football.
However, when he got to New England and was instructed to lift heavy weight again, he struggled with knowing how to handle the situation.
“Behind all that was going on outside of football, it was ‘Hey dude, you gotta get on the squat rack,’ and now my shoulder starts clicking,” Corral continued. “And it’s like, these guys have been with Tom Brady, like, who am I to say I’m not getting on that squat rack? I’m not Tom Brady.”
Between that and not having the best support system away from the field, it all came to a head one morning at the team facility.
“I’m walking out, I see Bill Belichick, Steve Belichick, everybody’s walking in,” he recalled. “I’m walking out. They don’t know I’m not going to see them again. I’m walking out. I’m gone. I can’t do this. Again, that was like, it was an adolescent thing to do. I couldn’t speak up for myself, who’s going to help me? I didn’t know where my help was coming from. I didn’t know how to do that.”
How Matt Corral Made It Through Patriots Storm
The Patriots tried to convince him to return, but Corral knew it wasn’t going to happen.
“I knew my job when they brought me there was to learn the two-minute offense,” he said on the podcast. “I learned it in the week. Learning wasn’t my problem, learning wasn’t the issue. My work ethic wasn’t the issue, my talent wasn’t the issue. I didn’t get cut. I walked out.”
Despite rumors and speculations about off-field issues surrounding alcohol or drugs, Corral insists he was just mentally “toast.” He eventually got help through therapy, saying he learned how to work through the emotional issues troubling him. He also turned to religion, crediting UFC legend Vitor Belfort for helping him through it all.
It’s unclear whether Corral will ever return to the NFL — or if he even really wants to. However, his football career is not over. After a brief 10-day stint with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, Corral signed with the Birmingham Stallions in the UFL. He appeared in nine games over two seasons with a QB rating of 75.4, and he signed with the Michigan Panthers in free agency last month.
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