Entire Patriots Team Believed QB Malik Cunningham Deserved to Play, Trent Brown Says

Patriots offensive lineman Trent Brown believes former New England quarterback Malik Cunningham deserved an opportunity to play this season.

The rest of the locker room apparently agrees, too.

Brown, who posted what appeared to take a subtle jab at New England on Instagram shortly after the Ravens signed Cunningham off the practice squad last week, firmly stated his belief that the rookie should have played.

“Absolutely. Everybody on the team did,” Brown said Wednesday, per Sophie Weller of A to Z NFL. 

The Patriots, 3–11 through 14 games, experienced plenty of quarterback turmoil this season as former first-round pick Mac Jones lost the starting role to Bailey Zappe.

Meanwhile, Cunningham, who went undrafted after a stellar football career at Louisville, impressed during the preseason but began the 2023 regular season on New England’s practice squad.

On Oct.15, Cunningham signed a three-year deal to the Patriots’ active roster but was cut 10 days later, sending him back to the practice squad. 

While Jones and Zappe played musical chairs at the quarterback position, Cunningham played just six offensive snaps that included a five-yard loss on a sack in the Patriots’ 21–17 loss to the Raiders in Week 6. 

New England has lost six of its last eight games in what has become a disastrous ‘23 campaign for coach Bill Belichick and the franchise.