Micale Malik Cunningham (born October 6, 1998) is an American professional football wide receiver. 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.
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. 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.
Cunningham was named the MVP of the 2019 Music City Bowl after passing for 279 yards with two touchdowns and rushing for 81 yards. 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. He was waived on August 29, and re-signed to the practice squad. On October 14, 2023, the Patriots promoted Cunningham to the active roster on a three-year contract. He was then released on October 24 and signed back to the practice squad the following day.
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. During the team's 2024 organized team activities, he transitioned from quarterback to wide receiver. He was released during cuts on August 27, 2024, and signed onto the practice squad the next day.
Cunningham signed a reserve/future contract with the Ravens on January 21, 2025. He was waived by the Ravens at the end of pre-season.
Detroit Lions On September 16, 2025, Cunninghman was signed to the practice squad of the Detroit Lions. He signed a reserve/future contract with Detroit on January 5, 2026.
On August 30, 2026, Cunningham was waived by the Lions as part of final roster cuts.
NFL career statistics Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacked Fumbles 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 02025DET10—000.000.00000.0111.0100000Career 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. He again went by Malik in 2020.
References
External links
Louisville Cardinals bio