When the New England Patriots signed Malik Cunningham to their active roster ahead of Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders, many thought Bill Belichick had something up his sleeve.

It turns out Belichick did. Cunningham ended up being the Patriots' primary backup quarterback for the Week 6 loss, supplanting Bailey Zappe and Will Grier for that role, with the former being designated the emergency third-string quarterback. Not only was Cunningham the primary backup behind Mac Jones though, but he also played some snaps at quarterback in trick sets and lined out at wide receiver.

Belichick had a confusing reason though when asked why Cunningham was signed to the active roster ahead of Sunday's game.

“We have a lot of people that are hurt,” Belichick told reporters.

There are certainly a lot of Patriots players dealing with injuries, especially on offense. Both JuJu Smith-Shuster and Demario Douglas didn't play in Week 6 after suffering concussions in Week 5, leaving room for Cunningham to potentially get playing time at that position.

But the Patriots aren't dealing with injuries at quarterback. Jones' status as the starting quarterback has been in question due to poor play over the last few weeks while Zappe hasn't played too well in the brief time he's been on the field. Grier was signed by the Patriots in late September, but has been on the roster for four games now.

The Patriots signed Cunningham, who was a star quarterback at Lousiville, as an undrafted free agent this past spring with the hopes of converting him to playing wide receiver. Cunningham mostly practiced at wide receiver during training camp, but got playing time at quarterback during two preseason games, becoming a fan favorite during the process.

As the Patriots signed Cunningham to the practice squad following cutdown day, Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien indicated earlier this week that the rookie has mostly been playing at wide receiver in practice.

Is Malik Cunningham QB2 for the Patriots moving forward? 

With Jones struggling in recent weeks, the Patriots' unexpected shift with their backup quarterback spot is a bit of a surprise. Jones might have held off a potential benching in Week 7 following his performance on Sunday, but what happens with the other quarterback spot remains to be seen.

“We’re just talking about this game,” Belichick said when asked about the backup quarterback setup.

The Patriots take on the Buffalo Bills next week.