The New England Patriots are in last place in the AFC East with a 2-9 record. This is the first time in the Bill Belichick era that the Patriots have had consecutive losing seasons. New England currently has the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and is in contention for the 1st overall pick.
It’s time to give Malik Cunningham a chance to be the starting quarterback moving forward.
The New England Patriots rookie played college football at Louisville
He committed to play college football for the Louisville Cardinals for the 2017 season. He redshirted in his first season. He started in three games during the 2018 season. He went 40/67 for 473 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He rushed for 497 yards on 79 carries and five touchdowns.
He took over as the starting quarterback during the 2019 season. He went 112/179 for 2,065 yards, 22 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He rushed for 482 yards on 123 carries and six touchdowns. He was named the MVP of the Music City Bowl.
He went 195/304 for 2,617 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions during the 2020 season. He rushed for 609 yards on 131 carries and seven touchdowns.
He went 209/337 for 2,941 yards, 19 touchdowns, and six interceptions during the 2021 season. He rushed for 1,034 yards on 173 carries and 20 touchdowns.
He went 136/218 for 1,568 yards, eight touchdowns, and five interceptions during the 2022 season. He rushed for 560 yards on 113 carries and 12 rushing touchdowns. He missed three games with a shoulder injury.
The 2023 draft
Malik Cunningham went undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft. He went undrafted because he’s on the smaller side, doesn’t have good deep ball accuracy, goes through reads quickly, and scrambles when his first two reads aren’t open. New England signed him as an undrafted free agent after the draft.
Cunningham had an interesting camp
He bounced around at different positions during camp. He played quarterback during rookie minicamp. He moved to wide receiver during OTAs and minicamp. He practiced at QB during training camp and in the preseason.
Roster cuts
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New England released him during roster cuts. They signed him to the practice squad and he was elevated to the active roster during Week 6.
Is it possible that he will start this season?
When asked about Cunningham’s possibility of starting, here’s what Bill O’Brien had to say:
“Malik has done a really good job. Assistant coaches make recommendations, and head coaches make decisions.”
Why starting him is unlikely
It is highly unlikely that New England rolls with Malik Cunningham because he hasn’t practiced at quarterback since Week 6. Here’s what Cunningham was told to do:
“They just always tell me with the quarterback stuff to always be ready, to keep studying the summer stuff, the weeks that I was activated, just keep studying some of that stuff so if something were to change that those would be the plays that I would run. So, just keeping up on those plays, and other than that, just keep working at my wide receiver stuff.”
Why he should start
What does New England have to lose if Cunningham starts? They already know what they have in Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. Neither one is going to win games for New England.
It would be nice to see what Malik Cunningham could do under center. You can never tell if someone is good without playing them. Give Malik Cunningham a chance. He’s not going to lead them to the playoffs, but he could prove that he’s capable of being the starter moving forward.
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