The Pittsburgh Steelers ultimately didn’t see New England Patriots QB Malik Cunningham in last Thursday’s loss. But they could see Cunningham later this season. Just in a different uniform. The Baltimore Ravens are signing Cunningham off the Patriots’ practice squad and to their 53-man roster.
That’s according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter through Cunningham himself.
As Schefter notes, Cunningham was teammates with Ravens starting QB Lamar Jackson for one year at Louisville. Cunningham didn’t go on to become a first-round pick like Jackson but had a solid college career. Like Jackson, he showed off his legs for the Cardinals, rushing for 50 career scores, including 32 of them over his final two seasons.
Cunningham thanked the Patriots’ organization for giving him the chance.
Undrafted, he signed with the Patriots following April’s draft. Playing time to date has been sparse, Cunningham logging just six offensive snaps this season, but New England had been elevating him off its practice squad for gameday, including last Thursday night.
Now, he’s headed to Baltimore to presumably be the Ravens’ third-string quarterback behind Jackson and Tyler Huntley (though there is ultimate journeyman Josh Johnson as the team’s No. 3, so it’s unclear as to the exact pecking order). While he’s likely to serve as a gameday inactive/emergency third-string quarterback, he could be an interesting chess piece for the future. Huntley is set to be a free agent after this season and the Ravens may be looking for their eventual No. 2 quarterback.
And if Baltimore has nothing to play for come Week 18, it’s possible Cunningham dresses and plays if Jackson is held out. The Ravens got one step closer to locking things up after Week 14, beating the Los Angeles Rams in overtime while the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins both lost. The Ravens are now the first AFC team to 10 wins and are in clear control of their own destiny to the top seed.
