Ravens QB 'not being stubborn' in switch to WR

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Malik Cunningham.

The Ravens signed Malik Cunningham off the New England Patriots practice squad in December, reuniting him with his former college teammate, Lamar Jackson.

At the time, Baltimore was using Cunningham as a quarterback, wide receiver and special teamer, but in May, the team officially moved him to wide receiver.

It's a switch that many quarterbacks would likely be opposed to. Cunningham felt that way at first but has since embraced the opportunity.

"At first, I looked at it as like, 'Dang man, I want to be a quarterback,'" Cunningham said, via the team's official website. "But at the same time, you have to do what's best for the team and that's how I looked at it. I was like, 'Hey, I can make plays for the quarterbacks out there when I get the ball in space.' So I looked at it as a plus, not as a fail."

Cunningham played in just one game for the Ravens in Week 18 of last season with all his snaps coming at wide receiver. He has yet to find himself on the stat sheet in Baltimore, but that was far from the case during his collegiate career.

During his last two years at Louisville, Cunningham threw for 4,509 yards and 27 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,591 yards and 32 touchdowns.

Cunningham's athleticism is exactly why the Ravens want to find a way to get him on the field.

"It goes back to me not being stubborn," he added. "I have to do what's best for the team, be where my feet are. Maybe they see something else in me."

However, Cunningham has long looked up to Jackson as a mobile quarterback. So he said his position change is not the end of his aspirations of playing quarterback in the NFL.

"I believe in myself and my ability," Cunningham stated. "Yeah, I can play quarterback. But that's not what they need me to do right now. They need me to do something else. I'm the type of guy, whatever it takes for the team to win."

Cunningham will have to fully embrace the switch for now if he hopes to make Baltimore's 53-man roster as Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Nelson Agholor, rookie Devontez Walker, Tylan Wallace and Deonte Harty are all ahead of him on the depth chart.

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