The Baltimore Ravens made a somewhat surprising move Tuesday, bolstering their quarterback room with the signing of rookie undrafted free agent Malik Cunningham off the practice squad of the New England Patriots.
Cunningham became the third quarterback on the Ravens 53-man roster, joining current starter and fellow former Louisville Cardinal Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley. But why did the Ravens suddenly add to their quarterback room when they seemingly already have their answer if something were to happen to Jackson?
Well, as many teams around the league learned last season, none more than the San Francisco 49ers, you never know what could happen. After the Niners went through four quarterbacks a year ago due to injuries, the NFL implemented the emergency third quarterback rule, which allows the team to carry a third signal-caller on their gameday roster without costing them a spot on the 53.
The addition of Cunningham will give the Ravens that extra quarterback and maybe even a new creative outlet. Despite starting at quarterback at Louisville for four seasons, after backing up Jackson in 2017, he transitioned into being a signal-caller/receiver hybrid in Foxboro for the Patriots. This new role saw him take snaps at both positions throughout the preseason and even to some extent in the regular season.
However, even after making the position change, Cunningham couldn't find a consistent spot on the Patriots roster, allowing him to team back up with Jackson in Baltimore, where he'll likely serve as one of his backups.
Yet, thanks to his work with the Patriots trying to convert into a receiver, Cunningham could still retain his hybrid role in the Ravens offense. The Ravens likely won't use him for any designed quarterback runs as they can do that already with Jackson, compared to the Patriots having Mac Jones.
However, Cunningham's role could be similar to that of Taysom Hill on the New Orleans Saints, who mostly functions as a pass-catching tight end but will take snaps at quarterback in certain packages.
Cunningham could have his chance to debut with the Ravens on Sunday when they travel to EverBank Stadium to face the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kickoff inside EverBank Stadium is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET.
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