The New England Patriots are making a clean sweep of their quarterback room beyond Mac Jones.

Malik Cunningham has been released by the Patriots, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday. The move comes as a bit of a surprise as it was reported not long prior that the team was also releasing primary backup Bailey Zappe.

Of course, there is still a possibility that the Patriots can add Cunningham to their practice squad. Every team in the NFL had to trim down their rosters to 53 players by 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Any player released will go through waivers. If a player goes unclaimed through waivers in the 24 hours after they were released, the team that released him can add him to their 16-man practice squad, which can officially be formed on Wednesday.

Cunningham was added to the team as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 draft, signing a contract that included one of the richest guarantees for an undrafted free agent in the history of the franchise. But the Louisville product didn't originally play quarterback when he signed with the team, opting to give playing receiver a try as many scouts and evaluators reportedly viewed he was too small to play quarterback in the league.

Cunningham played at receiver for much of the offseason practices and the start of training camp before moving to quarterback in practice ahead of the first preseason game. He played the team's final drive in their preseason opener, completing 3-of-4 passes for 19 yards but ran for 34 yards on five carries, including one that led to a touchdown.

Malik Cunningham continued to play both positions during camp and the preseason. However, he struggled at receiver as he didn't record a reception during the preseason and only played one other drive at quarterback in the preseason.