Bill Belichick did not have much to say about Matt Corral.
The Patriots claimed Corral off waivers from the Panthers in early September, but the quarterback was placed behind Bailey Zappe on the depth chart as Mac Jones’ backup.
He then was not with the team in its season-opening loss to the Eagles.
Belichick was asked about Corral’s status with the team in a press conference Monday morning.
“He’s on exempt status. I don’t have any comment on it. That’s a personal matter,” Belichick said.
Belichick answered affirmatively to a separate question about whether the team has been in contact with Corral since practice last week.
An unnamed Patriots official spoke to Fox Sports AFC East reporter Henry McKenna about Corral’s absence Sunday.
“He just left the team,” the source told McKenna. “Let’s just make sure he’s OK. I don’t know if it’s mental health. I just know he kind of flaked out. … Let’s be careful this guy doesn’t get thrown to the wolves.”
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported Sunday that the Patriots have not released Corral “out of fairness to the kid, because he’s been through a lot.”
Corral was the Panthers’ third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and he did not appear in a game last season.
The Patriots lost their season opener, 25-20, to the Eagles on Sunday in a game that could be considered a bit encouraging as they came close to mounting a comeback against last season’s NFC champions.
Elsewhere in his press conference, Belichick was asked about the idea that starting quarterback Mac Jones was hard on himself after the loss.
“Everybody did a lot of good things in the game, and I’m sure everybody feels the same way that Mac does that if we had all done one or two things a little bit better it could’ve made a difference,” Belichick said.
“So, I’m sure everybody feels the same way that Mac does, every player and coach that participated in the game. That said, there were a lot of – there were positives in the game that we have to build on, but in the end any of us could have helped a little bit more and it might have made a difference. I think we all know how Mac feels. We all feel the same way.”
Read more
