Lamar Jackson Gives Strong Endorsement Of Ex-Patriot Malik Cunningham

Malik Cunningham on Wednesday officially became a member of the Ravens, and Lamar Jackson is quite familiar with the former Patriots quarterback and wide receiver.

Baltimore signed the undrafted rookie off New England’s practice squad this week and placed returner Devin Duvernay on injured reserve for the rest of the season.

Multiple Patriots players sent their farewell messages to Cunningham, which seemed to imply Bill Belichick might have made a mistake by not working harder to retain the 25-year-old, but the head coach remained his usual self when he didn’t give much detail as to why New England was willing to let Cunningham sign to another team.

The Louisville product reunites with his former Cardinals teammate, and despite only a season together at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, Cunningham left quite the impression on the 2019 NFL MVP.

“He has a ton of potential, man,” Jackson told reporters Wednesday, per team-provided video. “Great quarterback, I’ve seen it first-hand when he was a freshman at Louisville. Obviously had to watch some of his high school highlights because that’s what we do. We love watching each other play football. He’s, like I said, a great quarterback, man. Explosive, can throw the ball anywhere down the field, make guys miss, he can do it all.”

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters Wednesday that Cunningham as a quarterback is a long-term projection for the team, who also carries Tyler Huntley and Josh Johnson on the roster — both quarterback’s contracts expire after this season. Baltimore still has plans to use Cunningham in a role similar to what he prepared for while with the Patriots: Receiver and special teams.

It’s unknown if Cunningham will see game action as soon as this Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but if he does succeed in Baltimore, that would be another blemish in Belichick’s recent record in player evaluation.