Getty Malik Cunningham of the Patriots
There were not many positives on the offensive side of the ball for the Patriots in Thursday’s preseason opener against the Texans at Gillette Stadium, a 20-9 defeat. But there was Malik Cunningham, the undrafted quarterback-attempting-to-turn-wide-receiver out of Louisville, who got his turn under center in the final New England drive of the game—its only touchdown drive.
In all, Cunningham was 3-for-4 passing for 19 yards and added another 34 yards rushing, including a touchdown with 1:54 to go in the game. The drive he led lasted 14 plays and covered 75 yards.
After the game, he told reporters, “Told the O-line and the whole group that we were going to go down and score, and that’s what we did. I just felt like with my running ability, it gave (us) a little more options on offense to open it up so they didn’t know we were going to pass or run. So, that was pretty fun.”
He caught the attention of a fellow former Louisville quarterback, Lamar Jackson. In response to a post on Twitter showing Cunningham jittering to a touchdown, Jackson wrote, “Broski” followed by two gas pump emojis.
Fellow Patriots Were Impressed
In Foxborough, Cunningham impressed his teammates.
Second-year receiver Tyquan Thornton, who played at LSU, said “I watched him in college when he was at Louisville, so we already knew what he could do, but it’s good to see him go out there and do it tonight. It was definitely fun to watch. I know a lot of guys in this room right now who have high hopes for him.”
Zappe, too, was impressed.
“Malik came in and did a phenomenal job, had a really good drive,” he said. “Scored the only touchdown of the game. Did really good in both the run game and the pass game. It was really nice to see him do that. Especially his first game in the NFL, to be able to go out there and kind of put the jitters aside and play like he did was really good to see. I think like everybody, I’m sure he had those little nerves, little jitters the first play or so. As the drive went on, you could see he got comfortable with it. To be able to see him score a touchdown and how excited he got, was really good.”
Can Cunningham Make Patriots Roster?
Cunningham will be an interesting call for the Patriots when it comes to setting the 53-man roster. He took snaps as a receiver against the Texans, but has gotten more work as a depth quarterback behind Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe recently.
It can be useful to keep a scrambling quarterback like Cunningham on the roster, too, to help prepare for opponents who employ dangerous runners.
But Cunningham could develop into more than just a practice-field decoy. He clearly has talent, and accounted for 120 touchdowns (which broke Jackson’s school record for TDs) in 47 starts with Louisville, and if the Patriots try to store him on the practice squad, there is a real risk he will get signed off of waivers.
Cunningham and Jackson have a good relationship, though last year at ACC media day, Cunningham admitted he was getting tired of being compared to the Ravens star.
“I do get tired of it a little bit, but who wouldn’t want to be compared to Lamar?” Cunningham said. “I mean, the great Lamar, in my opinion, the best college football player to ever play the sport. Just a role model to me, a big brother, and I’m thankful for a lot of the stuff that he does for me.”