| Birth date | October 6, 1998 (age 28) |
|---|---|
| Birth place | Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft |
| Height in | 0 |
| Weight lb | 198 |
| Team | Detroit Lions |
| Position | Wide receiver |
| Number | 15 |
| High school | Park Crossing (Montgomery) |
| College | Louisville (2017–2022) |
| Undraftedyear | 2023 |
| Pastteams |
|
| Status | Active |
| Statseason | 2025 |
| Statlabel 2 | Rushing yards |
| Statvalue 2 | 1 |
| Statlabel 3 | Rushing average |
| Statvalue 3 | 1.0 |
| Highlights |
|
| Pfr | CunnMa00 |
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 as a quarterback. He has also played in the NFL for the New England Patriots.
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
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.[7] He was waived on August 29, and re-signed to the practice squad.[8][9] On October 14, 2023, the Patriots promoted Cunningham to the active roster on a three-year contract.[10][11] He was then released on October 24 and signed back to the practice squad the following day.[12][13]
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.[14] During the team's 2024 organized team activities, he transitioned from quarterback to wide receiver.[15] He was released during cuts on August 27, 2024, and signed onto the practice squad the next day.[16][17]
Cunningham signed a reserve/future contract with the Ravens on January 21, 2025.[18] He was waived by the Ravens at the end of pre-season.[19]
Detroit Lions
On September 16, 2025, Cunninghman was signed to the practice squad of the Detroit Lions.[20] He signed a reserve/future contract with Detroit on January 5, 2026.[21]
NFL career statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacked | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Y/A | Lng | TD | Sck | Yds | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2023 | NE | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| BAL | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2025 | DET | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Personal life
Cunningham originally went by his middle name, Malik, before changing to his true first name, Micale, midway through the 2019 season.[22] He again went by Malik in 2020.[23]
References
- ^ "Patriots Release Two Players". Patriots.com. New England Patriots. October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
The New England Patriots announced today that they have released QB Malik Cunningham and DL Trey Flowers.
- ^ Bean, Josh (April 17, 2016). "Park Crossing QB Malik Cunningham commits to ACC school". AL.com. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Champlin, Drew (July 3, 2016). "Park Crossing QB Malik Cunningham reflects on Louisville commitment, talks Alabama, Auburn interest". AL.com. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Brown, Russ (July 17, 2019). "Satterfield sees role for both Pass and Cunningham". Kentucky Today. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Cunningham propels Louisville past Duke, 62-22". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 19, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
- ^ "Micale Cunningham shines, Louisville wins Music City Bowl". TribLIVE.com. Associated Press. December 30, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Patriots sign undrafted quarterback Malik Cunningham from Louisville". CBS News. April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "Patriots Make Roster Moves to Reach the 53-Man Roster Limit". Patriots.com. August 29, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Patriots sign 15 players to the practice squad". Patriots.com. August 30, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Patriots Make a Series of Transactions". Patriots.com. October 14, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Grindley, Wyatt (October 14, 2023). "Patriots Signing QB Malik Cunningham To Three-Year Deal". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
- ^ "Patriots Release Two Players". Patriots.com. October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ Kerr, Jeff (October 25, 2023). "Malik Cunningham clears waivers, re-signs with Patriots practice squad, per report". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ "Ravens' Malik Cunningham: Nabbed by Baltimore". CBSSports.com. 2023-12-12. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ^ Benjamin, Cody (24 May 2024). "Ravens move this former Patriots quarterback to wide receiver during 2024 OTAs". CBS Sports. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ "Malik Cunningham: Waived by Baltimore". CBSSports.com. 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ Marrero, Nathaniel (2024-08-28). "Ravens Sign Malik Cunningham to Practice Squad". SI.com. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ Mink, Ryan (January 21, 2025). "Ravens Sign 11 Players to Reserve/Future Contracts". BaltimoreRavens.com
- ^ Mink, Ryan (August 27, 2025). "5 Takeaways From Ravens Roster Cuts". BaltimoreRavens.com
- ^ "Versatile ex-Patriots player signs with NFC North team (report)". masslive.com. 2025-09-16. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
- ^ "Detroit Lions re-sign 3 ERFAs, 9 practice squaders to future deals". Pride of Detroit. January 5, 2026.
- ^ Kim, David J. (October 5, 2019). "Louisville football fans, meet quarterback Micale Cunningham, previously known as Malik". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Demling, Joey (September 19, 2020). "Louisville Quarterback: Is it Malik or Micale Cunningham?". 247sports.com. Retrieved November 29, 2023.