After spending the first few weeks of the season on the practice squad, Malik Cunningham had made quite the impression. And so much so that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick opted to sign him to the 53-man roster on a three year deal. 

So on Sunday night he made his debut, but it was apparent that the Patriots had an interesting game plan for Cunningham, despite the rookie being listed as the backup quarterback. 

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve been working at receiver," Cunningham told reporters after Sunday's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders (via The Boston Herald's Doug Kyed). "I do a little bit at quarterback. And then this week we did more — I did more quarterback stuff but still doing special teams and receiver, so it’s kind of like balancing it.”

Prior to the game, Cunningham spent warmups with the kick returners before moving over to work with the receivers. It was Mac Jones, the starter, and Bailey Zappe, who was serving as the emergency third quarterback, who were throwing. 

And when asked about this after the game, Cunningham provided some clarity into why he wasn't warming up with the quarterbacks. 

“I was already loosening in (the locker room),” Cunningham said. “They wanted to just keep it as low-key as possible, but once we went out there as a team, I warmed up a little bit.”

Cunningham was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft. He impressed in the preseason, showing off his speed while in the pocket, but was waived along with Zappe during cutdown day. 

This opportunity was one that Cunningham was not taking lightly, having worked his way from the bottom to the top. 

“I was just humbled,” Cunningham said. “I knew I had put the work in on the show teams and eventually that the time would happen if I just put my head down and worked.”

When asked about how he has progressed on the practice squad earlier this week, Belichick didn't hold back. And he even implied that Cunningham might get an opportunity soon. 

It appears he wasn't kidding. 

"Yeah, Malik’s really worked hard and made a lot of improvement," Belichick said on Friday. "He can catch the ball, but just route running and finding zones and things like that. But, it’s come pretty naturally to him. He plays a good amount of quarterback. He’s competent there. He’s a smart kid, works hard, and the opportunities he’s had, he’s shown a lot of improvement. It’s a little too early for an induction ceremony here, but definitely a lot of improvement."

However, when asked what went into the decision to sign him, Belichick stayed quiet, providing minimal information. 

“We had a lot of guys that were hurt," he said after the game. 

Kyed further reported that Cunningham was aware he was getting signed to the active roster on Tuesday during practice and was set to back up Mac Jones. 

While Cunningham's status is uncertain going forward in terms of who will serve as the back up quarterback, it's clear that the rookie isn't backing down from the challenge despite having a lot on his plate. 

“It was a lot thrown at me, but it wasn’t nothing that I couldn’t handle. So, I feel like I approached it well. We just gotta go back to work tomorrow," he said. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve been working at receiver. I do a little bit at quarterback. And then this week we did more — I did more quarterback stuff but still doing special teams and receiver, so it’s kind of like balancing it.”