Clay Travis: Matt Corral Situation Boils Down To Freedom Of Choice

Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral was carted off the field in the Sugar Bowl loss to Baylor, and the result was what OutKick founder Clay Travis referred to a "quake take."

Everyone wondered if Corral should have just sat out the bowl game, to avoid injury, and not hurt his standing in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The good news, it appears Corral will still be able to work out for NFL teams ahead of the draft, and that he will still be able to play. But should he have opted out of the bowl game, like so many other draft prospects occasionally do?

"Everybody deserves the right to make their own decision," Clay said. "Because everybody's risk tolerance is different. And I think this is something that connects with COVID and everything else.

"I think I'm pretty good at analyzing risk. I think the marketplace has reflected that I'm pretty good at recognizing market opportunities and building companies. I have had a great deal of financial success because of it. But I also realize not everyone has the same risk tolerance that I do."

Take college athletes, for instance.

"There are some people out there that are ecstatic to make $50,000 a year, and they would never take the risk to make more than $50,000," Clay said. "That's your choice.

'But what we need to do a better job of discussing, is the freedom to make choices that are right for you. If you don't want to wear a mask, and you just want to stay in the basement, and you ever want to go out again, that's your choice."

The same applies if you want to play in a bowl game even if it could hurt your draft status. After all, playing could also help your draft status. Either way, by playing, there's some risk involved.

"Your fears should not take away from my freedom," Clay added. "And I see that directly connected to the Matt Corral injury. A lot of people would argue that it made no sense for him to play in the Sugar Bowl. That would be their right to make that choice.

"But Matt Corral can also make the choice to play, and it shouldn't impact the choice that anybody else makes. We have to allow the guys the freedom to make their own choice and not turn everything into a national Rorschach test over whether or not it was the right choice for everyone."

For Clay's full take on the Corral situation, check out the video below.