When the New England Patriots brought Malik Cunningham back and placed him on the practice squad following cutdown day, many assumed that he would be used to mimic one of the many mobile quarterbacks the team has on their schedule this season.

So, with the Patriots taking on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, the Patriots could use Cunningham in a practice in a similar way the Eagles use Jalen Hurts, right?

Well, that's not exactly the case, at least in Bill Belichick's eyes.

Patriots: Bill Belichick reacts to Jalen Hurts-Malik Cunningham comparison

During Wednesday's press conference, the Patriots coach was asked if it's helpful to have Cunningham available for the scout team to help mimic Hurts and get the team prepared. Belichick shot down any comparisons between the undrafted rookie and the star quarterback.

“Yeah, no, I mean, Malik's got some good skills. I mean, I think it'd be a stretch to compare Malik Cunningham to Jalen Hurts now,” Belichick said. “I mean, you're talking about a guy who's second in MVP voting last year, or whatever he was. I don't know.”

Belichick is correct that Hurts finished second in MVP voting last season, leading the Eagles to 14 wins in 15 starts as he threw for 3,701 yards and rushed for 760 yards while scoring 35 total touchdowns.

The Patriots coach continued to dismiss the comparison, even though the question wasn't really comparing Cunningham to Hurts.

“So yeah, athletically there are some similarities, but you're talking about arguably the best player in the league — or one of the top two or three best players in the league. Nobody has anybody that can be him,” Belichick said. “And if they do, that guy's probably not playing on scout team for that team anyway. So, yeah, I mean, it is what it is. We go through that every week. Every team's got a few good players and some great players, and it's hard to replicate those players. And if you have one, your guy's probably not on the scout team doing it for that guy anyway.

“So, you know, you do the best you can but yeah, we'll have somebody to try to simulate the best we can what Hurts does. But we don't have anybody like Hurts, and probably neither does anybody else.”

Of course, Belichick is correct in that Cunningham doesn't stack up to Hurts as a player. But no one really is under the illusion that they're close in talent, either. The comparison between the two players really starts and ends with their mobile ability as Cunningham rushed for 50 touchdowns over his four seasons as a starting quarterback at Louisville.

Patriots-Eagles Week 1 clash

The Patriots can also draw some stuff from other experiences they've had against mobile quarterbacks to prepare for Sunday's game. They haven't done too well against those kinds of quarterbacks in recent seasons though, notably struggling against Josh Allen whenever they've faced the Buffalo Bills. For reference, Allen's scored 18 touchdowns in his six games against the Patriots, leading the Bills to decisive wins in five of those games.

Maybe Cunningham's presence on the roster and giving the team a look in practice they haven't seen since Cam Newton was on the team three years ago can help change things.