Malik Cunningham Planning to Emulate Bill Belichick as Lamar Jackson Prepares for Louisville Reunion

What a rollercoaster journey it has been for QB Malik Cunningham! But at the tail end of this unique journey is a reunion with one of the best QBs in the game. Along with playoffs in the store, but this 25-year-old QB wants to be like Bill Belichick rather than Tom Brady.

Cunningham is going back to his teammate from college. A graduate of the University of Louisville, Cunningham, is poised to play once again with his 2017 fellow QB Lamar Jackson. Cunnigham will have a bonus of appearing in the playoffs as well. But will he bring with him Belichick’s tactics to the Baltimore Ravens dressing room as well?

Malik Cunningham has coaching aspirations

Cunningham was signed by the Ravens from the Patriots’ practice squad and will join them immediately. But before leaving the Patriots, he shared a dream. Cunningham said, “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”. A praise like this from a youngster would mean a lot to the veteran HC.

“I had great teammates in New England and built relationships that will last a lifetime”, Cunningham said to ESPN. The young buck has been within the Patriots system for this year, and though he did not get any playtime, his gratefulness speaks a lot about his character.

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However, he is enthusiastic about this new chapter in his life. “I just feel like this is a good opportunity for me and I’m excited to be a Baltimore Raven”, he said. Cunningham is correct in being excited. Anyone would be if they had a year that he has had.

Undrafted to the playoffs

Earlier in the year, Cunningham was drafted by the Birmingham Stallions in the 2023 USFL Draft. He chose not to join, instead opting to go to the 2023 NFL Draft. There he received a shocker. He went undrafted. But the Patriots signed him as a free agent, but that was not the end of his roller coaster ride.

In August he was waived off and then re-signed to the Patriots practice squad. Then in October, he was promoted to the active roster on a three-year contract. But in the same month, he was once again relegated back to the practice squad.

And now the rookie is signed by a playoff-bound franchise. This experience is bound to help him in his future endeavors, be it coaching or playing.

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