Malik Cunningham Departs for Baltimore

Malik Cunningham received lots of attention in New England. He got it from the coaches that tried to develop him as a quarterback, wide receiver, and special teams player. And Cunningham certainly received plenty of attention from Patriots fans, many of whom wanted to see him get a shot to play quarterback this season. For an undrafted rookie free agent who appeared in only one game, the amount of attention he received was quite remarkable.

On Tuesday, the Malik Cunningham Era in New England came to an end. The practice squad player was signed to the Baltimore Ravens 53-man roster.

The Patriots originally cut Cunningham at the end of training camp, but brought him back to their practice squad. He eventually was promoted to New England’s 53-man roster. However, Cunningham was waived again, and signed back to the practice squad a second time. New England knew they were ran the risk of losing Cunningham by not keeping him on the 53-man roster. That scenario finally came to fruition.

Malik Cunningham’s stat line with New England: One game, six snaps, sacked once for a five-yard loss.

In New England’s first preseason game against Houston, Cunningham was star of the game. Playing QB, he completed 3-of-4 passes for 19 yards. His only incompletion was on a drop in the end zone. Cunningham also rushed for 34 yards and an impressive touchdown. The memory of that performance clearly stuck with the fanbase, who wanted a taste of it when the offense got stuck in the doldrums this season.

The move puts Malik Cunningham in position to back up his fellow Louisville Cardinals quarterback, Lamar Jackson. It also takes Cunningham from the practice squad of a 3-10 New England Patriots team to the 53-man roster of the 10-3 Baltimore Ravens.