Reporter reveals what Patriots coaches thought of Malik Cunningham

New England Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown raised eyebrows when he recently told Sophie Weller of A to Z Sports that "everybody on the team" believed undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham deserved a real chance to play quarterback for the club before the Baltimore Ravens signed Cunningham earlier this month. 

According to NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry, the breaking point inside the Patriots locker room may have occurred during or after New England's 34-0 home loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 5. 

"I will tell you this: I heard from coaches after the Saints game," Perry explained, according to Patriots beat reporter Dakota Randall of NESN. "So, two blowouts in a row, bad quarterback play. And I had coaches say to me, 'We might as well try Malik at this point. What do we have to lose?' And so, that may have been reflective of a greater portion of the locker room than maybe I was willing to give credit to at the time."

Week 1 starting quarterback Mac Jones was benched during the Week 4 38-3 defeat against the Dallas Cowboys and again versus the Saints, but Cunningham surprisingly recorded only six offensive snaps against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6. More recently, Bailey Zappe served as New England's QB1 over the past three games and presumably will remain atop the depth chart through Week 18. Zappe went 1-2 as the Patriots fell to 3-11. 

"I think when you think about just how much support there was for him, and all we heard about Malik Cunningham after the fact, I do think there was real, genuine love for the guy’s skill set here," Perry added. "Based on, basically, what they saw from him in practice."

It remains unknown if Patriots owner Robert Kraft will make wholesale changes that include the departure of legendary head coach Bill Belichick this winter. Regardless of Belichick's future beyond the ongoing season, it seems his handling of Cunningham rubbed some within the organization the wrong way.