Patriots Reportedly No Longer Re-Signing QB After ‘Change Of Plans’

The Matt Corral saga took another strange turn Wednesday.

On Tuesday, multiple outlets reported Corral, whom the Patriots waived a day earlier, was re-signing to New England’s practice squad. But that reunion never materialized.

The Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed and MassLive.com’s Mark Daniels on Wednesday reported the second-year quarterback no longer was rejoining the team.

“Sounds like there could be a change of plans here and that Matt Corral will not wind up joining the Patriots’ practice squad, after all, per source,” Kyed wrote on the X platform.

Daniels confirmed that report, writing that Corral “is no longer joining the Patriots practice squad after agreeing to sign with the practice squad (on Tuesday).”

The Patriots initially claimed Corral off waivers after the Carolina Panthers released him following roster cutdown day. The 24-year-old Ole Miss product participated in three practices with New England before reportedly leaving the team without notice days before its season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.

That abrupt exit — which head coach Bill Belichick called “a personal matter” — prompted the Patriots to place Corral on the exempt/left squad list, keeping him under team control but freeing up a spot on their 53-man roster. They used that spot to promote backup QB Bailey Zappe from the practice squad, then signed Ian Book to the P-squad to serve as their third-stringer.

After Sunday’s Week 2 loss to the Miami Dolphins, the Patriots released both Corral and Book. Corral cleared waivers, and Tuesday’s reports indicated New England intended to re-sign him to its practice squad. But those plans evidently fell through.

Expect the Patriots to explore other depth options behind starter Mac Jones and Zappe, as they typically prefer to have three quarterbacks available. They do have former Louisville signal-caller Malik Cunningham on their practice squad, but he’s splitting his time between QB and receiver.

The Patriots are scheduled to visit the New York Jets this Sunday at MetLife Stadium.