Quarterback Mac Jones gets a new backup in New England

Quarterback Mac Jones gets a new backup in New England

In an SEC game on Oct. 10, 2020, Alabama quarterback Mac Jones completed 28-of-32 passes for 417 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral completed 21-of-28 passes for 365 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions during the Crimson Tide’s 63-48 victory.

SEC rivals then, Jones and Corral are teammates in the NFL now.

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On Thursday, Corral was awarded to the Patriots as a waiver claim.

After spending training camp and the preseason behind former Alabama All-American Bryce Young on the Carolina Panthers’ depth chart, Corral is backing up Jones.

When New England reduced its preseason roster to the regular-season limit of 53 players on Tuesday, only one of the surviving players was a quarterback – Jones.

Now New England has four quarterbacks – two on the active roster and two on the practice squad.

The Patriots had waived their other preseason quarterbacks – Trace McSorley on Monday and Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham on Tuesday.

When Zappe and Cunningham went unclaimed on waivers, New England re-signed them for its practice squad.

Cunningham continues to be listed as a quarterback on the roster, even though the Patriots signed the former Park Crossing High School star with plans to develop him into a wide receiver. He played both wide receiver and quarterback (and returned a kickoff) in preseason games.

A first-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, Jones has been New England’s starting quarterback for the past two seasons.

Corral joined the Panthers in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Corral sustained a foot injury during a preseason game against the Patriots that caused him to miss the 2022 season.

In the offseason, Carolina got rid of the three quarterbacks who started games in 2022 – Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and P.J. Walker. The Panthers used the No. 1 choice in the NFL Draft on April 27 on Young and signed three-time Pro Bowler Andy Dalton.

Corral got the most preseason work among Carolina’s quarterbacks as he completed 28-of-47 passes for 249 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

When the Panthers reduced their roster to 53 players, Corral was on the team. But when Carolina claimed three players who had been waived on Tuesday, the Panthers needed three vacancies on the roster on Wednesday and waived former Auburn linebacker Chandler Wooten, wide receiver Derek Wright and Corral.

The Patriots are preparing for their season-opening game on Sept. 10 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.