It's hard to trust the Patriots player evaluation at quarterback when it's clear they've mishandled the position since before letting Tom Brady walk out that door. So, with news that Malik Cunningham had been signed off the team's practice squad to join the Ravens' active roster, I immediately asked myself if the Patriots mishandled a potential asset?
I don't know that there is a black-and-white answer, like this social-media, gotta-have-it-now culture that we live in seemingly demands. But the first thing I did think of was how 32 teams passed on Cunningham for seven straight rounds in April's NFL Draft. Could all 32 have been wrong? Could the former Louisville star translate the big numbers he put up in college to the next level? To quote Kevin Garnett, 'Anything is possible.' Look at Kurt Warner and what he accomplished as an undrafted free agent, winning a Super Bowl with the Rams and returning to the big game twice. There's also, among others, Tony Romo (before becoming an incredibly annoying color commentator), Warren Moon, Jeff Garcia, Jake Delhomme, or, more recently, Tommy DeVito, aka Tommy Cutlets.
But here's the rub. NFL coaches want players to check certain boxes. Despite someone like Bill Belichick embracing "positional versatility," it's one thing to do that with a safety or a defensive or offensive lineman. When talking about the most critical spot on the field, quarterback, it's an entirely different animal. And while you could dabble in the wildcat, as some teams have done, or occasionally have a Julian Edelman or Jakobi Meyers throw a pass, trying to manage both and have complete trust was an unlikely proposition, no matter what you think of Cunningham (and by all accounts, he's a bright, attentive kid). The only player I can think of that's toed this line is Taysom Hill, and if we're being real, he's not a very good quarterback, and the Saints have told us that repeatedly, starting Teddy Bridgewater, Jameis Winston, and Derek Carr over him.
By all accounts, Cunningham spent most of his time in the wide receivers room (how's he supposed to grow as a QB?). And even after his elevation against Las Vegas to the number two QB spot (over Bailey Zappe), he practiced only a handful of plays he would be asked to run in a game. Against the Raiders, he only took six snaps, didn't attempt a pass, and got sacked once. Ten days later, Cunningham was released and signed to the practice squad again, where he remained until recent elevations (and reversions) the past two weeks. Regardless of what you saw collegiately, and how you feel about the Pats' plan at QB, that doesn't give you a reason to believe, does it?
Unlike those QBs mentioned earlier in this story - or even Matt Corral and Ian Book, two players the Pats have brought in this year - there were always questions about where Cunningham's possible NFL future would be from the jump. The Pats were one of several teams to work him out as both a quarterback and a receiver, and even Cunningham admitted that the latter might be his best path. He was undoubtedly saying what he felt the organizations scouting him wanted to hear, but after dabbling with him briefly in the preseason, it was clear the Pats didn't see him as a potential signal caller. They willingly put him on the practice squad, where any team could quickly sign him away, so long as he was elevated to the active roster.
Now, he's a Raven, and if the 25-year-old finds NFL success at the position he's played his entire life, this is probably his best chance. Cunningham is joining an organization that changed how they played offensive football the day they decided Lamar Jackson was their future (the Pats passed on him twice in round one) and revamped their QB room over the years to find the poor man's version of Jackson. Tyler Huntley is now the backup (in a contract year), with the well-traveled Josh Johnson as the emergency QB. This is a challenging spot for Cunningham, jumping on a moving train, but this clearly isn't about 2023-24; instead, it's about the future, something the rookie never had in New England. Will history prove that to be another example of roster mismanagement and poor player evaluation? Sorry, but only time will tell.
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Asked a Ravens source about how they view Cunningham ... "(We) hope, eventually, QB. We had a spot, we can use him short-term at WR but it’s a QB league and he fits our offense. Low-risk move. Could pay off next year. It’s not really about this year." - Bedard
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