Patriots Reportedly Have This Plan For Malik Cunningham Vs. Bills

Malik Cunningham likely will be part of the Patriots’ game plan for Sunday’s AFC East battle with the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium.

But fans expecting a more prominent role for New England’s exciting undrafted rookie might be disappointed.

Cunningham, who played six snaps last week against the Las Vegas Raiders in his NFL debut last week, is expected to see similar or less playing time against Buffalo, according to a report Friday from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.

“My understanding is the handling of the quarterbacks during the week was largely unchanged with the Bills on Sunday,” Breer wrote, “though Cunningham took fewer reps at the position this week, with his role expected to either stay the same or be scaled back from where it was in Vegas.”

It was unclear as of Sunday morning whether Cunningham would serve as the Patriots’ primary backup QB for the second straight week. The Louisville product surprisingly filled that role in the loss to Las Vegas, backing up Mac Jones while Bailey Zappe was designated as the emergency third QB and Will Grier sat out as a healthy scratch.

Cunningham split his limited game action between gadget-play QB and wide receiver against the Raiders, and his impact was minimal. He handed off once, took a sack on his lone dropback and finished without a pass attempt, rushing attempt or target. Jones attempted all 33 Patriots passes in the team’s 21-17 loss at Allegiant Stadium.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien would not reveal how the team intends to structure its QB depth chart against Buffalo, with O’Brien saying the team is taking a “week-to-week” approach with Cunningham.

Though he doesn’t look ready to challenge Jones for the starting job, Cunningham’s athleticism makes him an intriguing weapon for New England’s struggling offense. The Patriots rank near the bottom of the league in most offensive metrics, including points per game (12.0; second-to-last).