National Football League

Trent Brown: 'Everybody' on Patriots felt Malik Cunningham deserved shot

Published Dec. 21, 2023 2:44 p.m. ET

The New England Patriots are in the midst of an ugly 2023 campaign that has featured the franchise flip-flop quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. Rookie Malik Cunningham, who was recently signed by the Baltimore Ravens off New England's practice squad, was also in the quarterback mix.

Should Cunningham have been given a chance to start for the Patriots? His former teammate, left tackle Trent Brown, feels so — and apparently so do many others.

"Absolutely," Brown said about whether Cunningham should've received more playing time with the Patriots in an interview with A to Z Sports published Wednesday. "Everybody on the team did. Everybody."

Brown alluded to Cunningham's preseason play as a reason for him to get a look in the regular season.

"I mean, probably the most exciting drive we had in that stadium was against Houston in preseason games this season," Brown said. "Like, my guy couldn't even get a red jersey."

The Patriots signed Cunningham as an undrafted free agent out of Louisville, but he was used as both a quarterback and wide receiver. Cunningham succeeded Lamar Jackson — who he's now reunited with in Baltimore — as Louisville's starting quarterback, where he most notably ran for 1,034 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2021 and 12 touchdowns in 2022.

Brown, 30 and a one-time Pro Bowler, is in his second stint with the Patriots (2018 and 2021-present) and has started eight games this season.

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New England, which is 3-11 and slated to pick second in the 2024 NFL Draft, boasts arguably the worst offense in the sport. It's averaging just 285.3 total yards (28th in NFL) and 13.3 points (last) per game.

Across 11 starts, Jones has totaled 2,120 passing yards, 10 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 77.0 passer rating, while completing 64.9% of his passes. Zappe has appeared in seven games, making three starts, and has posted just a 73.9 passer rating, while completing 60.2% of his passes. Cunningham appeared in one game.

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