With Tuesday's cutdown deadline just a day away, we still have no clarity on Malik Cunningham's future with the Patriots.
Cunningham signed with New England as an undrafted rookie after excelling at quarterback in five seasons with Louisville. The 24-year-old is listed as a QB on the Patriots' official website, but he played both quarterback and receiver throughout the summer. Most notably, Cunningham tore up the Houston Texans while playing quarterback for one drive in New England's preseason opener.
The 24-year-old currently isn't ready to play either receiver or quarterback at the NFL level, but his athleticism and playmaking ability are undeniable. As such, the Patriots' decision on whether to roster him will be a fascinating one.
The Athletic's Jeff Howe offered a Cunningham update after the Patriots released quarterback Trace McSorley on Monday.
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"With the Patriots' release of QB Trace McSorley, they still haven't finalized their call on Malik Cunningham, source said," Howe wrote on the X platform. "Too many roster variables still at play over the next 26 hours."
Howe's update arrived a few hours after Bill Belichick talked about Cunningham during an appearance on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" program.
"Malik is a really interesting player," Belichick said. “The kid never played receiver before or returned kicks and he's done both, he's returned kickoffs and played receiver as well as playing quarterback. We'll see how it goes. He's certainly got some things on his résumé, and so do other players so we’ll see how it all plays out."
New England must announce its initial 53-man roster by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The Patriots already had released 13 players as of Monday afternoon.
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Featured image via Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports Images
