This isn’t what’s happening in all likelihood, but a funny thought did cross my mind - if the Pats find that they really like Cunningham by year’s end and want to build around him, then they are still within the “capitalize on a rookie QB deal” window. They’d have 2 years of minimum level salary after this year, plus he would be a restricted free agent for one year after that where they could retain him with a 1st round tender which still wouldn’t be much money. So overall there’s a window to seize on a cheap QB contract here, on the off chance that he is “the guy”, but that’s definitely a very slim likelihood.