Benjamin Corey Cunningham (born July 7, 1990) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

. He played college football at Middle Tennessee State and was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2013.

Early years

Cunningham attended

Goodpasture Christian School This is a list of high schools, either currently open, closed, or planned to open in the future, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Anderson County * Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Clinton * Anderson County High School * Clinton High School ...

Madison, Tennessee Madison (originally Madison Station) is a former settlement, now a suburban neighborhood of northeast Nashville, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is incorporated as part of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. The ...

, where he was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. In football, he rushed for 721 yards and 16 touchdowns on offense, while collecting 62 tackles and an interception on defense. As a senior, he rushed for a new school record 1,744 yards and 2,357 all purpose yards to go along with 29

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

, leading Goodpasture to the state semifinals. He was named the Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Class 2A Back for 2008, the TSWA All-State and the Region Player of the Year and was voted to the All-Southern Football Team by the Orlando Sentinel. He owns the school record in single-season rushing yards (1,744), career touchdowns (60), touchdowns in a game (five), touchdowns in a season (29), and all-purpose yards in a season (2,357) and career (4,611). He was also selected to play at the Tennessee East-West All-Star Game. Also an standout

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete, Cunningham was one of the state's top performers in the sprinting events. At the 2009 TSSAA State T&F Championships, he took gold in both the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

, with a time of 10.6 seconds, and in the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

, at 21.86 seconds. In addition, he competed in the 800 meter run event and was a member of the

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smalles ...

squad. He also recorded a 4.39

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

in practice. Regarded only as a two-star recruit by the '' Rivals.com'' recruiting network, Cunningham chose MTSU over scholarship offers from Miami (OH) and Tennessee Tech.

College career

Cunningham played for MTSU from 2009–2012. In 2009, he saw action in 11 games and was third on the team with 173 yards rushing on 46 attempts and two touchdowns. In 2010, he played in all 13 games and earned two starts and was fourth on the team with 355 rushing yards on 78 attempts to go with four touchdowns, and also had 16 receptions for 96 yards and returned 14 kickoffs for 364 yards (26.0). In 2011, he played in eight games and had six starts and was second on the team in rushing yards, with 501 yards and four touchdowns while leading all running backs with 17 receptions for 187 yards and a touchdown. In 2012, he was voted Second-team All-SBC and named Third-team All-SBC by ''CollegeSportsMadness.com'', despite playing in just five games, he had his most productive season with 600 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns.

Professional career

St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams

Cunningham was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2013 and made their 53-man roster. For the 2013 season, he carried the ball 47 times for 261 yards (5.6 average) and a touchdown. He added six receptions for 59 yards in a backup role. In the 2014 season, he had 246 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to go along with 45 receptions for 352 receiving yards and a touchdown. In the 2015 season, he had 37 carries for 140 rushing yards and 26 receptions for 250 yards. Cunningham signed a one-year extension with the Rams on April 6, 2016. Cunningham was placed on injured reserve on December 15, 2016 with a neck injury. He finished the 2016 season with 21 carries for 101 rushing yards and 16 receptions for 91 yards.

Chicago Bears

On March 21, 2017, Cunningham signed with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

. On September 10, 2017, in his Bears debut, Cunningham had one punt return for 23 yards in the 23–17 home loss to the Atlanta Falcons at

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Foot ...

. On October 9, against the Minnesota Vikings, he had a 38-yard touchdown reception from punter Pat O'Donnell on a trick play. Overall, he finished the 2017 season with 20 receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns. On April 3, 2018, Cunningham re-signed with the Bears on a one-year contract. During the 2018 season, Cunningham recorded 20 rushing yards on 11 attempts and one reception for nine yards. Overall, in the 2018 season, he had 11 carries for 20 rushing yards to go along with eight kickoff returns for 173 net yards.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On April 2, 2019, Cunningham signed with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

. He was released on August 11, 2019.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

After his playing career, Benny Cunningham alleged that the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

scripts its games and forces players to sign a

non-disclosure agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wis ...

on the matter.

References

External links

Chicago Bears bioLos Angeles Rams bioMiddle Tennessee Blue Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Benny 1990 births Living people Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee American football return specialists American football running backs Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football players St. Louis Rams players Los Angeles Rams players Chicago Bears players Jacksonville Jaguars players Brian Piccolo Award winners