OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens signed rookie and former Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham off the Patriots’ practice squad and onto their roster, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Cunningham and Ravens starter Lamar Jackson were teammates for one season (2017) for the Cardinals.
Cunningham confirmed the news to Schefter via Twitter.
“I wanted to thank Mr. Kraft and Coach Belichick for giving me opportunity to play with the Patriots,” he said on the social media platform. “I learned a lot from them. I want to be a coach one day, so I would take notes from coach Belichick because he’s one of the greatest of all time. I had great teammates in New England and built relationships that will last a lifetime. But I just feel like this is a good opportunity for me and I’m excited to be a Baltimore Raven.”
Cunningham ranks fourth in Louisville program history with 9,664 passing yards and third with 3,184 rushing yards.
Jackson set or tied 42 single-game season and career records during his time at Louisville. He threw for 9,043 yards, 69 touchdowns and rushed for a school-record 4,132 yards and 50 touchdowns. He is sixth in the Football Bowl Subdivision for career rushing yards by a quarterback and was the third player in FBS history to record 50 career rushing and 50 career passing touchdowns.
Jackson, who played three seasons at Louisville, is the only player in FBS history to rush for at least 1,500 yards and pass for at least 3,500 yards in a season.
The Patriots signed Cunningham as a rookie free agent by the Patriots in May. Cunningham was released in August, but he was signed to the practice squad. On October 14th, he was signed to the active roster, but he was released 10 days later and signed again to the practice squad.
He played in one game but did not attempt a pass and was sacked once.
Cunningham could play a bigger role with the Ravens beyond this season because Jackson’s primary backup, Tyler Huntley, is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
