Malik Cunningham Sets Good First Impression in Preseason Debut
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When entering NFL training camp as an undrafted free agent, you need to seize every opportunity that you can in hopes of making the final 53-man roster. Fortunately for Malik Cunningham, that's exactly what he did.
The former Louisville star quarterback, who signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent immediately following the NFL Draft earlier this year, didn't waste any time making a good first in-game impression.
During New England's preseason opener against the Houston Texans, a 20-9 loss, Cunningham - who is currently fourth on the depth chart - was inserted into the game with one final drive left. He subsequently led the Patriots on their only touchdown-scoring drive of the game.
Through the air, Cunningham went 3-for-4 with 19 yards passing, with his lone incompletion being a drop from wide receiver Tre Nixon on what would have been a 22-yard touchdown pass. He also rushed five times for 34 yards, including a nine-yard rush where he juked Texans linebacker Jake Hansen en route to the endzone.
"Malik Cunningham was undrafted… how did this happen?," Pat McAfee posted to Twitter. "There was 259 picks…. 259 people better than this guy electrifying Foxboro right now?"
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound signal caller had a bit of a down 2022 campaign at Louisville by his standards, partially assisted by injuries. Playing in 10 games this past season with nine starts, Cunningham completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 1,568 yards and eight touchdowns to five interceptions. The dual threat QB also rushed for 565 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Still, it was enough for him to re-write the UofL record books. Cunningham finished his Cardinals career with 120 touchdowns responsible for, surpassing Lamar Jackson for the most in Louisville history. His 12,848 career yards ranks second to Jackson, and his 50 career rushing touchdowns are also tied with the former Heisman Trophy winner.
His 3,184 rushing yards rank third in school history behind Jackson and Walter Peacock, his 9,664 career passing yards rank fourth and his 70 career passing touchdowns rank fifth.
Cunningham's best season came in 2021. That year, he finished the year fifth in the ACC in rushing yards with 1,031, and fourth nationally in rushing touchdowns with 20. Not to mention that was on top of a 62.0 percent completion rate for 2,941 yards and 19 touchdowns through the air to only six interceptions. His 305.5 yards per game was good for fifth in the ACC and 14th nationally.
(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Eric Canha - USA TODAY Sports)
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