Although new Panthers head coach Frank Reich has yet to officially declare Bryce Young—the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft—his team’s starting quarterback, there is every expectation that Young will be under center when Carolina takes the field against the Falcons in Week 1. The fact that Young began taking full first-team reps towards the end of OTAs only reinforces that belief.
Veteran Andy Dalton, who signed with the club in March, will presumably serve as Young’s backup. At this stage of his career, Dalton has nothing to gain by playing in the Panthers’ preseason slate, and the team has everything to lose by deploying Young in the preseason. That leaves 2022 third-rounder Matt Corral as the most likely candidate to see the bulk of Carolina’s preseason snaps, as Joseph Person of The Athletic writes (subscription required).
Corral, part of a much-maligned draft class of quarterbacks in 2022, may have already missed his best opportunity to show what he can do in meaningful NFL contests. Given the injuries and underwhelming play that plagued the Panthers’ QB depth chart in 2022, Corral almost certainly would have had the opportunity to take regular-season snaps if not for a preseason Lisfranc injury that ended his rookie campaign before it started. Now, with his already limited window to become the Panthers’ franchise signal-caller having been closed by the selection of Young, Corral will want to generate as much good film as he can in the upcoming preseason.
There was already trade chatter surrounding Corral this offseason, though the cost to acquire him at this point would obviously be low in light of last year’s developments. Corral is also reportedly content to remain with the Panthers for the time being since Reich, a renowned QB mentor, is now the head coach. Still, the Ole Miss product may welcome a move to a team that offers him at least some semblance of upward mobility, and Carolina GM Scott Fitterer would be happy to recoup some value for his third-round investment. A strong preseason showing for Corral could therefore be beneficial for both player and team, so it stands to reason that he would get plenty of burn in August’s exhibition contests.
Corral suffered the above-referenced Lisfranc injury during the Panthers’ second preseason game in 2022. Over his two preseason appearances, he completed just 10 of 24 passes for 69 yards, though he earned second-team All-SEC honors during his final collegiate season in 2022, having thrown 20 touchdowns against five interceptions while adding another 11 TDs on the ground.
At present, Young, Dalton, and Corral are the only three quarterbacks on Carolina’s roster.
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