Malik Cunningham clears waivers, re-signs with Patriots practice squad, per report

The New England Patriots‘ game of musical chairs at the quarterback position continued on Wednesday with the team re-signing rookie Malik Cunningham to its practice squad, according to the Boston Herald. This comes a day after the club waived Cunningham. He has since cleared waivers and now finds himself back in Foxborough. 

This was the second time the Patriots elected to expose Cunningham — who has worked as a quarterback and wide receiver dating back to training camp — to the rest of the league via waivers and the second time they’ve been successful in bringing him back. 

Cunningham played in just one game this year, where he was the backup to Mac Jones. He played just six snaps in the Week 6 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, being sacked once in limited action. He only played quarterback on two snaps, while lining up as a receiver on the other four. 

Cunningham’s athleticism stood out in Patriots training camp this summer, similar to his playing days at Louisville. He threw for 9,660 yards and 70 touchdowns while rushing for 3,179 yards and 50 touchdowns in five seasons. Not only did Cunningham succeed Lamar Jackson at Louisville, but it was believed Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was going to convert him from a good college quarterback into an NFL wide receiver (see Julian Edelman). 

Instead, Cunningham was used in a variety of positions on offense over the course of the season. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien said previously it was week-to-week on how he was used. 

Cunningham initially was released earlier this summer, along with backup quarterback Bailey Zappe, on 53-man roster cutdown day. He was brought back to the practice squad and signed to the active roster last week, reportedly on a three-year deal. Now, he finds himself yet again on the practice unit.