Malik Cunningham, a rookie with the New England Patriots, impressed in the preseason and ended his summer run by throwing passes, carrying the ball, and collecting a pass in the team’s 23-7 loss against the Tennessee Titans.
Cunningham has developed as a jack of all trades, and as such, he has the potential to become a Taysom Hill-type player in the future. He stated on Friday night that all he wants to do is play.
“I’m a footballer.” “I’ll do whatever they need me to do,” he stated when asked whether he had a preference for a post.
“I feel like I did well in those three games,” he said. “A lot to take on the chin, a lot of things I did well, a lot more things I need to work on as a quarterback or receiver, wherever they put me.” Just being here is a blessing. I simply want to thank God for the honor and for bestowing these gifts on me, and we’ll see where things go from here.”
Cunningham signed as an undrafted free agent with the Patriots. He was a standout quarterback for the Cardinals while at Louisville.
He demonstrated some of that speed previously in the preseason, and the video soon went popular on social media. He’ll now have to face cut day before the start of the NFL season in Week 1.
He was asked about his biggest surprise after graduating from college and entering the NFL.
“What was the biggest surprise?” Just the difference between college and the NFL is astounding. “Definitely different from a weight room standpoint,” he remarked. “There will be a lot more meetings in the league.” Spending a lot more time at the stadium trying to get your body right.
“In college, I really got into a pattern. There’s not much you can do when you’re the finest athlete on the field in college. But if you’re in the league, everyone around you is a strong player, and there’s a lot to learn from them. So it was nice to get into a rhythm and learn from some of those older guys.”