Malik Cunningham continues to draw praise from Patriots teammates: ‘He’s electric’
"He’s a guy who’s been doing it in college, so I guess it’s second nature to him to do that."
Malik Cunningham’s list of supporters continues to grow after his impressive debut on Thursday night.
Speaking after Sunday’s practice in Foxborough, Patriots wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster offered up praise for New England’s rookie quarterback/wide receiver.
“That dude is electric,” Smith-Schuster said of Cunningham. “When the football’s in his hands as a quarterback, he’s a very dangerous player, as you could see this past Thursday night. But he’s a guy who’s been doing it in college, so I guess it’s second nature to him to do that.”
A quarterback by trade, Cunningham entered New England’s training camp trying to carve out a role as a wide receiver.
But after earning reps under center during camp practices last week, Cunningham earned the nod as QB during the fourth quarter of New England’s 20-9 loss to the Texans at Gillette Stadium.
The dual-threat QB was one of the few bright spots on a lackluster night for New England’s offense, orchestrating a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a highlight-reel juke and a nine-yard scramble touchdown by the Louisville product.
“That’s his opportunity,” Bill Belichick said of Cunningham on Thursday. “And he’s done a good job with it. He’s embraced it. He’s worked hard, he’s improved a lot as a receiver. The snaps he’s had at quarterback in practice and tonight — he’s done a pretty good job.”
Cunningham once again earned looks both at receiver and quarterback during Sunday’s practice behind Gillette Stadium.
NESN.com’s Zack Cox noted that Cunningham warmed up with New England’s receivers on Sunday, but his only reps during team drills came at quarterback.
Cunningham only went through five snaps at quarterback and did not attempt a pass. But he did earn some reps next to Rhamondre Stevenson, David Andrews and some of New England’s first-team unit on offense.
“Really kind of the first reps I got with him that y’all saw,” Andrews said of Cunningham’s reps with him on Sunday. “Like every other rookie, he’s getting a lot thrown at him. He’s just trying to take it day by day. He obviously can do some different things, so we’ll see.”
Cunningham’s performance under limited reps on Thursday has drawn attention across the NFL.
“Two-hundred-fifty-nine picks in that draft last year, Malik Cunningham was not drafted,” former NFL punter Pat McAfee said on The Pat McAfee Show last week. “Somehow this guy is an undrafted free agent that Bill Belichick finds.
“And in the fourth quarter of the first preseason game, he gets an opportunity to play quarterback [and] electrifies everything. … “I don’t know how every team passes on him seven times. But now here’s Bill Belichick, super genius, just found another guy.”
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson — once a teammate of Cunningham at Louisville — supported the Patriots QB/WR by commenting: “QB1” on Cunningham’s Instagram post.
With joint practices and a preseason game against the Packers set for later this week, it will be interesting to see if Cunningham gains even more reps at quarterback moving forward.
The 24-year-old clearly has plenty of teammates and friends in his corner as he tries to land a spot on New England’s 53-man roster.
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