Report: Malik Cunningham Elevated From Practice Squad, Signs Three-Year Deal With Patriots

The former Louisville quarterback inked an undrafted free agent deal with New England after the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Malik Cunningham is reportedly one step closer to making his NFL debut. 

The former Louisville star quarterback is being elevated from the New England Patriots' practice squad and has signed a three-year deal to remain on the organization's 53-man roster, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound signal caller went unselected in this past April's NFL Draft, but inked an undrafted free agent deal with the Patriots immediately afterwards. He has remained on the Patriots' practice squad since the start of the regular season, but with the struggles of starting quarterback Mac Jones and backup Bailey Zappe, it seemed inevitable that Cunningham would eventually get his shot.

Over the course of training camp and the preseason, Cunningham took snaps at both quarterback at wide receiver. He impressed during New England's first preseason game against the Houston Texans, going 3-for-4 for 19 yards along five rushes for 34 yards and a touchdown.

But in their second preseason game at the Green Bay Packers, he took snaps exclusively at wideout, being targeted four times for zero receptions. In their final preseason game at the Tennessee Titans, he went 0-for-2 through the air, had one carry for five yards, and one reception for negative-one yard.

Cunningham had a bit of a down 2022 campaign at Louisville by his standards, partially assisted by injuries. Playing in 10 games this past season with nine starts, Cunningham completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 1,568 yards and eight touchdowns to five interceptions. The dual threat QB also rushed for 565 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Still, it was enough for him to re-write the UofL record books. Cunningham finished his Cardinals career with 120 touchdowns responsible for, surpassing Lamar Jackson for the most in Louisville history. His 12,848 career yards ranks second to Jackson, and his 50 career rushing touchdowns are also tied with the former Heisman Trophy winner.

His 3,184 rushing yards rank third in school history behind Jackson and Walter Peacock, his 9,664 career passing yards rank fourth and his 70 career passing touchdowns rank fifth.

Cunningham's best season came in 2021. That year, he finished the year fifth in the ACC in rushing yards with 1,031, and fourth nationally in rushing touchdowns with 20. Not to mention that was on top of a 62.0 percent completion rate for 2,941 yards and 19 touchdowns through the air to only six interceptions. His 305.5 yards per game was good for fifth in the ACC and 14th nationally.

(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Eric Canha - USA TODAY Sports)

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