New England Patriots’ Undrafted Investment In Quarterback Malik Cunningham Will Be Worth Watching

From Alabama’s Bryce Young at No. 1 overall to Texas Christian’s Max Duggan at No. 239 overall, the 2023 NFL draft saw 14 quarterback prospects selected.

The New England Patriots were not among the teams to go under center. But that changed in the minutes after the seventh round reached the rearview.

Malik Cunningham reached agreement.

The Louisville product did so on an undrafted contract with $200,000 in total guarantees, as Doug Kyed of A to Z Sports and Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reported. Those guarantees include $170,000 of his base salary along with a $30,000 signing bonus.

And a skillset that could extend New England’s streak of at least one rookie free agent making the opening roster to 20 years.

The level of investment in Cunningham reflects the level of competition from around the league. It could reflect the odds of the former three-star recruit clearing waivers at the cutdown from 90 to 53 players.

What takes place between now and the preseason finale will be worth watching.

Redshirting in the fall of 2017 and graduating in the fall of 2020, Cunningham completed 62.6% of his passes for 9,664 yards with 70 touchdowns and 29 interceptions at Louisville. The successor to Heisman Trophy winner and eventual NFL MVP Lamar Jackson started 47 of his 56 games as a dangerous dual threat in his own right.

An athlete out of Alabama’s Park Crossing High School, Cunningham rushed for 3,184 yards along with an additional 50 touchdowns over the course of 619 carries for the Cardinals.

In 2021, he led all FBS quarterbacks with 1,031 yards on the ground while ranking atop the ACC and fourth nationally in that department with 20 scores. A long, winding run of 72 yards versus Duke was one of them.

Cunningham returned to make nine starts as a team captain last campaign and missed time due to a shoulder injury before opting out of the Fenway Bowl. His 120 all-purpose touchdowns had set the program record by then. His 144 missed tackles forced had finished as the most by a college quarterback in the Pro Football Focus era.

The on-field production was reinforced by the on-field testing.

According to Zebra Technologies’ tracking, Cunningham hit 20.99 mph at the Reese’s Senior Bowl for the fifth-fastest speed of all players in Mobile. He registered ten explosive efforts to tie for second among quarterbacks, as well.

The NFL Scouting Combine attendee then tied Houston’s Clayton Tune and trailed only Florida’s Anthony Richardson at the position with an athleticism score of 89.

At an undersized yet creative, elusive and decisive 5-foot-11, 192 pounds, Cunningham ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds with a 10-yard split of 1.51 seconds while in Indianapolis. Those times respectively stand in the 95th and 97th percentile for quarterbacks in the MockDraftable archives dating back to 1999. The same cannot be said for the height and weight relative to other signal-callers.

How that translates remains to be seen under re-hired offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. If the playmaking abilities give way to a place on the scout team or the active roster, it would be another variable to prepare with.

It would also be another variable to prepare for.

The Patriots hosted Cunningham on a pre-draft visit. And while the 24-year-old incoming rookie was not among the war room’s dozen draft picks in April, he joins Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe and Trace McSorley in the quarterback room entering organized team activities.