Malik Cunningham
American football player (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Micale Malik Cunningham (born October 6, 1998) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL).[1] He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals. He has also played in the NFL as a quarterback for the New England Patriots.
Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
| No. 80 – Detroit Lions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | October 6, 1998 Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 198 lb (90 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Park Crossing (Montgomery) | ||||||||
| College | Louisville (2017–2022) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2023: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||
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Early life
Cunningham attended Park Crossing High School in Montgomery, Alabama. During his career, he passed for 6,276 yards and 71 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,926 yards and 32 scores. He committed to the University of Louisville to play college football.[2][3]
College career
After redshirting his first year at Louisville in 2017, Cunningham appeared in 10 games and made three starts in 2018. He completed 40 of 67 passes for 473 yards with one touchdown and one interception and rushed for a team-high 497 yards and five touchdowns.[4] In 2019, he completed 111 of 178 passes for 2,065 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also added 482 yards and six touchdowns rushing. On November 18, 2021, Cunningham put up 527 yards of offense (224 yards rushing and 303 yards passing) in a blowout victory against Duke; he had five passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.[5]
Cunningham was named the MVP of the 2019 Music City Bowl after passing for 279 yards with two touchdowns and rushing for 81 yards.[6] Cunningham also played in the 2021 First Responder Bowl and the 2023 Senior Bowl.
Statistics
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | — | Redshirt  | ||||||||||||
| 2018 | 10 | 3 | 1−2 | 40 | 67 | 59.7 | 473 | 7.1 | 1 | 1 | 120.9 | 79 | 497 | 6.3 | 5 | |
| 2019 | 12 | 10 | 7−3 | 112 | 179 | 62.6 | 2,065 | 11.5 | 22 | 5 | 194.4 | 123 | 482 | 3.9 | 6 | |
| 2020 | 11 | 11 | 4−7 | 195 | 304 | 64.1 | 2,617 | 8.6 | 20 | 12 | 150.3 | 131 | 609 | 4.6 | 7 | |
| 2021 | 13 | 13 | 6−7 | 209 | 337 | 62.0 | 2,941 | 8.7 | 19 | 6 | 150.4 | 173 | 1,034 | 6.0 | 20 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 10 | 5−5 | 136 | 218 | 62.4 | 1,568 | 7.2 | 8 | 5 | 130.3 | 113 | 560 | 5.0 | 12 | |
| Career | 56 | 47 | 23−24 | 692 | 1,105 | 62.6 | 9,664 | 8.7 | 70 | 29 | 151.7 | 619 | 3,182 | 5.1 | 50 | |
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11+3⁄4 in (1.82 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 31+3⁄8 in (0.80 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 4.53 s | 1.51 s | 2.60 s | ||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[7][8] | ||||||||||||
Cunningham was selected in the third round of the 2023 USFL draft by the Birmingham Stallions, although he opted not to play for them during the 2023 USFL season, and instead committed to the NFL Draft.
New England Patriots
Following the conclusion of the 2023 NFL draft, the New England Patriots signed Cunningham as an undrafted free agent.[9] He was waived on August 29, and re-signed to the practice squad.[10][11] On October 14, 2023, the Patriots promoted Cunningham to the active roster on a three-year contract.[12][13] He was then released on October 24 and signed back to the practice squad the following day.[14][15]
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens signed Cunningham off the Patriots' practice squad on December 12, 2023. The signing reunited him with his former Louisville teammate Lamar Jackson.[16] During the team's 2024 organized team activities, he transitioned from quarterback to wide receiver.[17] He was released during cuts on August 27, 2024, and signed onto the practice squad the next day.[18][19]
Cunningham signed a reserve/future contract with the Ravens on January 21, 2025.[20] He was waived by the Ravens at the end of pre-season.[21]
Detroit Lions
On September 16, 2025, Cunninghman was signed to the practice squad of the Detroit Lions.[22] He signed a reserve/future contract with Detroit on January 5, 2026.[23]