Patriots news & notes: Matt Corral an intriguing back up; Thoughts on Thornton

The quarterback carrousel in New England at the backup quarterback position this past week is enough to leave any Patriots fans dizzy.

First, they released Bailey Zappe, Trace McSorley and undrafted rookie free agent Malik Cunningham leaving Mac Jones as the lone quarterback.  Then they signed both Zappe and Cunningham back to the practice squad.

To make things more interesting, they claimed former Carolina Panthers quarterback Matt Corral off waivers on Thursday.  The Ole Miss standout, who was taken in the third-round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Panthers, didn’t play in his rookie season, but came into the league with some hype surrounding him.

Patriots add another talented young quarterback to the mix

While the story should be more about the team’s faith in Mac Jones, there’s an underlying story here that could develop quickly.  Not only does the flurry of transactions detail the regression of Zappe, it gives Jones a new reason to look over his shoulder because Corral has the traits and talent to be an NFL starting quarterback.

In fact, Chris Simms of NBC Sports had Corral as his top quarterback draft prospect in that 2022 NFL Draft.  Patriots fans, start licking your chops.

"“Insane athlete, he’s the quickest quarterback in the draft,” Simms said of Corral. “There’s nobody with quicker feet. Can make people miss, you know, great acceleration. Pop his feet to get back into throwing positions. Nobody can do that as good as Matt Corral, let alone, he’s got the quickest release in the draft too. It’s as quick of a release as I’ve seen coming out of college football in a few years actually. Then, we get into the arm strength. The arm strength is phenomenal. The ball absolutely flies out of Matt Corral’s hand. To me, he’s made for the modern-day NFL. Corral is the most accurate thrower in the draft too. He is. I don’t know what his numbers are and I don’t even really care. When he sees a target, he can put the ball on the money into the tightest windows out of anybody in this draft.”"

Undersized, but that highly touted athleticism and arm strength makes Corral more than just a backup option.  He could be coming to Foxboro to give Jones some heavy competition at the position.  At the very least, he gives the Patriots an intriguing option if Mac Jones doesn’t have the Year 3 bounce back he’s expected to have with O’Brien running the offense.

Mac’s season will obviously depend on the targets he has to throw the ball to.  Another interesting transaction this week was second-year wide receiver Tyquan Thornton landing on IR.

Patriots enter the 2023 NFL season with question marks at receiver

Even with Thornton starting the season on IR, the Patriots do have a group of receivers that can be very good as a unit.  The problem is it can turn disastrous due to a couple of injury concerns.

JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker are two players who can be very productive if health.  With the issues both have had in training camp and the preseason, fingers are crossed in Foxborough of either of the two receivers remaining available through the season.

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That leaves Kendrick Bourne and a duo of 2023 sixth-round picks, Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte, who will need to be dependable targets for Mac Jones and the Patriots offense.  Again, not a wide receiver group to write home about, but a group capable of surprising some folks in the NFL, especially if they can get the talent of Thornton on the field.

Due to what he is capable of, not having Thornton available is a “major disappointment” according to Mike Giardi of Boston Sports Journal who touched on the second-year receiver during an appearance on WEEI’s  Gresh & Fauria:

"“When Thornton was on the field during training camp, it wasn’t awesome, but there were moments where Andy and I would be sitting next to each other and you’re like, ‘Ooh, he just dragged two defenders with him because they respected his speed and he opened up something underneath for Hunter Henry or a crosser for JuJu or a back out of the backfield.’ He doesn’t necessarily have to catch 55 passes to be an influential piece of the offense. But once again, more time missed and more reps that he didn’t get this summer, and now that continues into the season. It’s just a microcosm of how it’s gone for him.”"

In dealing with a shoulder injury, there is still some hope Thornton can be that player this season.  Like Smith-Schuster and Parker, the Patriots young receiver is starting out his career very injury prone which has him trending more towards another high-round bust for Bill Belichick.