New England Patriots backup quarterback Malik Cunningham got on the field a few times in the Pats’ Week 6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. While he didn’t do all that much in his first game as Mac Jones’ primary backup, it seems as though he did enough to intrigue head coach Bill Belichick.

Cunningham is an undrafted free agent rookie out of Louisville. When he came to the Patriots this past offseason, many thought Belichick would value the QB for his versatility. Up until the Patriots' Week 6 loss to the Raiders, fans didn’t get to see anything from Cunningham, as he was on the New England practice squad.

Against Las Vegas, though, Belichick elevated Cunningham to Jones’ backup, and the young signal-caller got in the game in a variety of roles. He played six snaps, lining up at wide receiver three times and quarterback three times. At QB, he handed off twice and got sacked on his lone pass attempt.

After the game, Belichick gave Cunningham — what coming from Belichick constitutes — high praise.

“Malik’s improved a lot during the course of the year, both at receiver and in the kicking game and some of the snaps that he’s taken at quarterback,” Bill Belichick said in a video conference, per NESN. “We didn’t really get too much of a chance to see him (Sunday). It was a tough situation. They made a good call and hit us on a perimeter blitz there (on his sack). But he’s been good to work with, he’s made a lot of improvement, and we’ll see where it goes.”

That last “we’ll see where it goes” makes it sound like Belichick and offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien aren’t done trying new things with Malik Cunningham, which could help get the Patriots offense out of their funk that’s seen them score just 20 points in the last three games.