Korey Cunningham
![]() Cunningham at Luke Air Force Base in 2018 | |||||
Personal information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born: | Montevallo, Alabama, U.S. | May 17, 1995||||
Died: | April 25, 2024 Clifton, New Jersey, U.S. | (aged 28)||||
Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||
Weight: | 311 lb (141 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | Montevallo | ||||
College: | Cincinnati (2013–2017) | ||||
Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||
NFL draft: | 2018 / Round: 7 / Pick: 254 | ||||
Career history | |||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
Player stats at PFR |
Korey Cunningham (May 17, 1995 – April 25, 2024) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) from 2018 to 2022. He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft. He played in the NFL for the Cardinals, New England Patriots, and New York Giants.
Amateur career
[edit]Cunningham attended Montevallo High School in Montevallo, Alabama.[1] He played for the school's football team as a tight end and defensive end.[2]
Cunningham intended to enroll at Auburn University to play college football for the Tigers under head coach Gene Chizik, but when they replaced Chizik with Gus Malzahn, he changed his commitment to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to play for the UAB Blazers. When Blazers' assistant coach Tyson Helton left UAB to coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats at the University of Cincinnati, Cunningham went with him.[2] He converted to offensive tackle with Cincinnati.[2] He played in 33 games, starting his final 24 games as a left tackle, for the Bearcats.[2][3]
Professional career
[edit]Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 5+3⁄8 in (1.97 m) |
311 lb (141 kg) |
32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) |
9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.90 s | 1.75 s | 2.74 s | 35.5 in (0.90 m) |
9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) |
27 reps | |||
All values from Pro Day[4][5] |
Arizona Cardinals
[edit]Cunningham was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the seventh round (254th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft.[6] On May 11, 2018, he signed his rookie contract.[7] He started six games for the Cardinals during the 2018 season.[2] He suffered a foot injury in Week 16 and was placed on injured reserve on December 25, 2018.[8]
New England Patriots
[edit]On August 28, 2019, the Cardinals traded Cunningham to the New England Patriots for a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft.[9] Cunningham played in 18 regular season games for the Patriots, starting six of them, and in one game in the postseason.[10]
On August 31, 2021, Cunningham was released by the Patriots.[10]
New York Giants
[edit]On September 7, 2021, Cunningham was signed to the practice squad of the New York Giants.[11] On October 19, Cunningham was signed to the active roster.[12]
On March 17, 2022, the Giants re-signed Cunningham.[13] On July 22, his contract was terminated with a non-football injury designation.[14] On October 18, the Giants re–signed Cunningham to their practice squad.[15] On November 23, he was elevated from the practice squad for Week 12 game against the Dallas Cowboys.[16]
Cunningham signed a reserve/future contract with the team on January 22, 2023.[17] He was released by the organization on August 27.[18]
Death
[edit]On April 25, 2024, emergency responders found Cunningham dead at age 28 in his Clifton, New Jersey home shortly before 3:30 p.m. EDT after he was reported unconscious.[19] A local news organization, "RLS Media was informed by law enforcement sources that Cunningham's death was self-inflicted."[20][21][22][23] However, no official cause of death was publicly announced.[24]
References
[edit]- ^ Etheredge, Alec (January 4, 2022). "Former Montevallo star, current NFL player Korey Cunningham surprises alma mater with sweatshirts". Shelby County Reporter. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Inabinett, Mark (August 29, 2019). "Arizona trades Montevallo's Korey Cunningham". al.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ "Korey Cunningham". draftscout.com. April 28, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ "2018 Draft Scout Korey Cunningham, Cincinnati NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ "Korey Cunningham 2018 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- ^ Kubel, Tom (April 28, 2018). "Cardinals select T Korey Cunningham in seventh round of the NFL Draft". ArizonaSports.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Odegard, Kyle (May 11, 2018). "Three More Cardinals Draft Picks Sign Contracts". AZCardinals.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Urban, Darren (December 25, 2018). "With Waiver Claim, Cardinals Bring Back D.J. Swearinger". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Williams, Charean (August 28, 2019). "Cardinals trade Korey Cunningham to Patriots". ProFootballTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ a b "Patriots Make Roster Moves to Reach 53-Man Roster Limit; Acquire OL Yasir Durant in a Trade with Kansas City". Patriots.com. September 1, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Salomone, Dan (September 7, 2021). "Giants make updates to practice squad". Giants.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (October 19, 2021). "Andrew Thomas, CJ Board placed on injured reserve". Giants.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (March 17, 2022). "Giants re-sign offensive tackle Korey Cunningham". Giants.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Elsen, Michael (July 22, 2022). "Giants sign DB Gavin Heslop, terminate OT Korey Cunningham (non-football injury)". Giants.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (October 18, 2022). "Giants sign WR Marcus Johnson off practice squad". Giants.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Salomone, Dan (November 23, 2022). "Giants sign OL Devery Hamilton, DB Trenton Thompson to active roster". Giants.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ "Giants sign 10 to reserve/future contracts". Giants.com. January 22, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Salomone, Dan (August 27, 2023). "Giants make series of transactions ahead of NFL roster deadline". Giants.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Raanan, Jordan (April 26, 2024). "Former Giants OL Cunningham dies at age 28". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Smith, Richard L. (April 25, 2024). "DEVELOPING: Former NY Giants NFL Player Korey Cunningham Found Dead in New Jersey Home". RLS Media. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ Hunt, Todderick (April 26, 2024). "Ex-Giants offensive lineman pronounced dead at N.J. home". NJ Advance Media. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ Springer, Scott (April 26, 2024). "Former Cincinnati Bearcats offensive lineman Korey Cunningham dies at age 28". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ Root, Jess (April 26, 2024). "Former Cardinals OL Korey Cunningham found dead at home in New Jersey". USA Today. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ "Korey Cunningham, a former NFL lineman, found dead in his New Jersey home. He was 28". Associated Press. April 26, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
External links
[edit]- 1995 births
- 2024 deaths
- American football offensive tackles
- Arizona Cardinals players
- Cincinnati Bearcats football players
- New England Patriots players
- New York Giants players
- People from Montevallo, Alabama
- Players of American football from Alabama
- 21st-century African-American sportspeople
- 21st-century American sportsmen