Lions Sign Former Ravens QB

Cunningham will play a very specific role with the Ravens in the coming days, with their Week 3 showdown on Monday Night Football projected as one of the upcoming weekend's marquee matchups. The backup 26-year-old split his lone NFL season between the Ravens and the New England Patriots, appearing in one game per team as a dual threat trick play specialist.

The Ravens kept him around on their practice squad last season, despite his never getting elevated to the NFL roster, eventually waiving him as one of their many numbers-based offseason cuts.

He was never going to get many snaps with perennial-MVP candidate Lamar Jackson under center, nor did he have much of a prayer at cracking the Ravens' quietly-deep receiver room. What he can offer, though, is a role as a Jackson surrogate for the Lions to practice against, one of the rare players capable of passing and running at a competent level.

He'll likely lead the Lions' scout team in practicing against Detroit's starters, who only get so many different ways to prepare for a game-changer like Jackson. He's currently spearheading the NFL's highest-scoring offense, having cracked the 40-point mark in both the Ravens' outings. They're 1-1 record won't impress many on paper, but Jackson remains at the peak of his powers.

The Lions, looking to be just as competitive as the Ravens, also don't have an open starting quarterback spot for Cunningham to simply slide into after Jared Goff. He remains a productive conductor of the Detroit offense, even if he isn't quite the same tier-one quarterback as his upcoming matchup.

The former Raven-turned-Lion could look something like Jackson dancing around a pocket protected by other practice squad players, but the star quarterback's arm will be the toughest aspect to replicate, even in a controlled setting.

Jackson isn't nearly as rushing-dependent as he once was, dashing for merely 83 yards on eight attempts through the regular season's first two weeks. He's much more willing to air the ball out than he was during his inaugural MVP season, tossing a quartet of touchdowns in the Ravens' recent 41-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

The Lions can try getting ready for someone like Jackson with whom they lack much experience against, and they're already pulling out all of the stops in bracing for Week 3's finale.