There has been a mixture of anger and disappointment from fans following Tuesday’s news that the Baltimore Ravens had signed rookie quarterback Malik Cunningham off the New England Patriots’ practice squad.
The reality is Patriots coach Bill Belichick never valued Cunningham as a quarterback on the roster, aside from mimicking opposing players at the position on the scout team.
There was never any clear direction on what the team wanted him to be. On one hand, they worked him out behind the scenes at receiver, but then he would suddenly be back under center taking reps at quarterback.
Even when he showed promise at quarterback in the preseason, the Patriots were oddly baffled by what to do with him. They clearly liked him on the team, but they did him no favors in a critical year of development.
Get to know Malik Cunningham ⬇️
📺: #HOUvsNE on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/bBFpXewtKp pic.twitter.com/7TXlyREFdX— NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2023
To make matters worse, the team is currently sitting at 3-10 with no hope of making the playoffs. Wouldn’t it have made sense to at least play Cunningham for a half and see what you have in the young signal-caller?
Instead, the Patriots have opted to lean on the Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe formula that obviously isn’t working.
Joining the Ravens could work wonders for Cunningham, who will finally be with a team that knows what to do with his unique talents as both a runner and passer. He’ll be able to learn the ropes of quarterbacking at the next level under a former NFL MVP and his former college teammate, Lamar Jackson.
Meanwhile, the Patriots can sift their way through this lost NFL season with some combination of Zappe, Jones and Will Grier.
