The Ravens’ experiment with Malik Cunningham at wide receiver will seemingly continue ahead of the 2024 season.
Cunningham, who starred while playing quarterback at Louisville, is now listed as a wide receiver on the team’s roster, and during their OTA session Friday, he made “several grabs” that appeared to validate the switch, according to their team website reporter.
Baltimore has reigning MVP and ex-Louisville star Lamar Jackson, journeyman quarterback Josh Johnson and sixth-round pick Devin Leary as other quarterbacks on their depth chart, and it’d be difficult for the 25-year-old to log snaps under center.
So it gives the Ravens’ offense and offensive coordinator Todd Monken an intriguing option to developed and work into the offense ahead of the 2024 season, when they’ll attempt to recreate the success they produced in 2023 — when they went 13-4 and clinched the AFC’s top seed before falling to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
Cunningham’s NFL career began when he signed as an undrafted quarterback with the Patriots following the 2023 NFL Draft, but he was waived after an underwhelming preseason and signed back to the practice squad.
Then, in a strange twist, he ended up signing a three-year deal with the Patriots and was waived again 10 days later.
The Ravens signed Cunningham to their roster following that final New England transaction, and while he played in one game with the Ravens, Cunningham also practiced at receiver “here and there,” head coach John Harbaugh told reporters ahead of Week 18.
Cunningham also appeared in one game with the Patriots, collecting 10 total snaps between those two cameos.
“I think that remains to be seen,” Harbaugh said in April, according to the team website, acknowledging that Cunningham’s role, at the time, hadn’t been determined. “We’re going to take a look at him and see how he does. He’s definitely developmental as a quarterback. He’s developmental as a wide receiver, too. But he’s a good athlete. He’s a good person. He’s a competitive guy, he wants to do well.”
Wideout Zay Flowers and tight end Mark Andrews accounted for the majority of Lamar Jackson’s targets last when both were healthy.