FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick put it best Wednesday when he said entering the NFL for a rookie is like "drinking through a fire hose."

Most rookies have a hard enough time figuring things out at one position. It seems then that the Patriots have a lot of faith in Louisville undrafted free agent Malik Cunningham.

The college quarterback spent most of his first practice open to the media at wide receiver before moving to QB for a post-practice scout-team 11-on-11 drill. On Tuesday, when the Patriots were short their top four wide receivers, Cunningham was solely used as a pass catcher.

"He played quarterback at Louisville, so we're giving him some work at receiver," Belichick said before Tuesday's practice. "We'll see how it goes. He's an athletic kid, smart. He's able to learn two spots. We'll see."

Belichick was even less verbose when asked if there would be some value to having an athletic quarterback like Cunningham for the scout team during the season.

"Yeah, maybe," Belichick said. "I don't know."

The NFL implemented a new rule that allows teams to dress a third quarterback without making him active as long as he's on the 53-man roster. The rule could impact New England's decision to carry a third quarterback on their roster after cuts. Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe are roster locks. Ex-Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals QB Trace McSorely is currently New England's third quarterback.

"We'll take a look at it," Belichick said about the rule.

Cunningham, whose rookie contract included a team-record $200,000 guaranteed and $30,000 signing bonus, was a prolific playmaker at Louisville but not always the most efficient passer. He finished his six years with the Cardinals with 523 carries for 3,713 yards with 50 touchdowns. In 2021 alone, he rushed for 1,142 yards with 20 touchdowns. He completed 62.2 percent of his college passes for 9,656 yards with 70 touchdowns and 29 interceptions but never took his passing ability to the next level.

Cunningham measured in at 6-feet, 200 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine and ran a 4.53-second 40-yard dash. He certainly doesn't look out of place athletically among Patriots wide receivers, and college quarterbacks have had successful switches to quarterback in the NFL. Perhaps the best modern example is former Patriots wideout Julian Edelman. It took Edelman until his fifth season to be a regular starter, but he went on to put up three 1,000-yard receiving seasons and is one of the NFL’s best playoff pass-catchers of all time.

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