Did Bill Belichick Hint At Playing Time For Malik Cunningham?

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Malik Cunningham's Patriots debut, whenever it happens, almost certainly won't come as a quarterback.

But as a receiver? That's a different story, and one that could be told Sunday in Las Vegas.

The uber-athletic Cunningham, who played quarterback in college, signed with New England as an undrafted rookie to play receiver. The Louisville product saw some time at quarterback during the summer, including a mania-inducing -- and meaningless -- preseason drive against the Houston Texans, but otherwise focused on playing wideout for the first time in his life. Cunningham also saw work as a kick returner. He was cut after training camp and re-signed to the practice squad.

All signs point toward New England being without concussed receivers Demario Douglas and JuJu Smith-Schuster for Sunday's must-win game against the Raiders. If both players are inactive, rookie Kayshon Boutte presumably would be active for the first time since Week 1. But the other vacancy likely would be filled by one of three practice squad receivers, including Cunningham.

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Earlier this week, Bill O'Brien praised Cunningham for his development at receiver, and Bill Belichick sang a similar tune Friday morning.

"Malik's really worked hard and made a lot of improvement," the Patriots head coach said during a news conference. "He never really played in the kicking game at Louisville, so he's started to show up there. Never played receiver. That didn't look very good either in the spring, but I think he's really improved there. He can catch the ball, but just route-running, finding zones and things like that. But it's come pretty naturally to him.

"And he plays a good amount of quarterback. He's competent there. He's a smart kid, he works hard, and the opportunities he's had, he's actually looked -- he's shown a lot of improvement doing them. It's a little too early for an induction ceremony here, but it's definitely a lot of improvement."

So, could Cunningham be elevated from the practice squad for the Raiders matchup?

"He's definitely trending towards," Belichick said before pausing. " ... Yeah, anybody that keeps improving is going to eventually probably get an opportunity to play."

Technically, Belichick left some wiggle room for the possibility of Cunningham playing quarterback. But it's important to note that his comments about Cunningham were delivered within the context of a conversation about New England being shorthanded at wideout.

Belichick on Wednesday confirmed that Mac Jones will start against the Raiders after being benched the last two weeks. And at least one report indicates third-stringer Will Grier, not Bailey Zappe, will be the next man up if Jones implodes again.

So, don't expect to see Cunningham under center anytime soon unless the Patriots want to run a gadget package. But his first gameday snaps as an NFL receiver could be just days away.