When the Ravens signed 2023 UDFA Malik Cunningham off the Patriots’ practice squad in December, it was widely speculated that they were doing so with the intention of installing Cunningham as quarterback Lamar Jackson’s backup for the next season (and possibly beyond). However, as Ryan Mink of the Ravens’ official website points out, Cunningham is now classified as a wide receiver on the Ravens’ roster.
The Ravens let Jackson’s former backup, Tyler Huntley, to leave in free agency while re-signing 38-year-old veteran Josh Johnson, setting the stage for a Johnson-Cunningham showdown for the QB2 position. Instead, earlier this month, head coach John Harbaugh named Johnson the second-best passer on the depth chart, and we heard that Cunningham would move to wide receiver.
The transition has been made official, as the Ravens appear to be satisfied with their quarterback position after drafting Devin Leary in the sixth round of this year’s draft. Cunningham, whose lack of passing ability caused him to go undrafted last spring, but nonetheless a tremendously athletic prospect for whom the Patriots developed a specific package of gadget-type plays while he was on their roster.
Cunningham only appeared in one game (six snaps) with New England, but he will now be able to focus solely on his skills as a receiver. According to Mink, the Louisville product has shown promise in that capacity during the early phases of the Ravens’ offseason.
The club did add Devontez Walker in the fourth round of the April draft, and tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely have proven to be excellent ball catchers, but Cunningham still appears to have a good shot of carving out a place for himself in the WR room. Behind Zay Flowers, Bateman, and Agholor, the Ravens’ wideouts are either unproven or slated for a third phase role, so if Cunningham continues to perform well this summer, he and Jackson — who were teammates at Louisville in 2017 — could be on the field together when the regular season begins.
