Korey Cunningham (May 17, 1995 – April 25, 2024) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in 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 ...

(NFL) from 2018 to 2022. He played college football for the

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. Though they will move to the Big 12 Conference (XII) the teams are currently a part of the American Athletic Conference (The American), which from 1979 ...

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

Cunningham attended Montevallo High School in

Montevallo, Alabama Montevallo is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with approximately 3,000 students. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city o ...

. He played for the school's football team as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

. Cunningham intended to enroll at Auburn University to play college football for the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Gene Chizik Eugene C. Chizik Jr. (born December 28, 1961) is an American football coach who is currently the Assistant Head Coach for Defense at North Carolina. A veteran of the coaching ranks, Chizik previously was UNC's defensive coordinator for the 2015 ...

, but when they replaced Chizik with

Gus Malzahn Arthur Gustavo Malzahn III (; born October 28, 1965) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at the University of Central Florida ( UCF). He was the head football coach at Auburn University from 2013 to 2020. During the 20 ...

, he changed his commmitment to the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established in 1936, the institution became a four-year campus in 1966 and a fully autonomous univ ...

(UAB) to play for the

UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of Conference USA (C-USA) and participates in Division I of th ...

. When Blazers' assistant coach

Tyson Helton Tyson Helton (born June 20, 1977) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current Head coach, head coach of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. He played college football at Houston C ...

left UAB to coach for the

at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

, Cunningham went with him. He converted to offensive tackle with Cincinnati. He played in 33 games, starting his final 24 games as a

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

, for the Bearcats.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Cunningham was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the seventh round (254th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft. On May 11, 2018, he signed his rookie contract. He started six games for the Cardinals during the 2018 season. He suffered a foot injury in Week 16 and was placed on injured reserve on December 25, 2018.

New England Patriots

On August 28, 2019, the Cardinals traded Cunningham to the New England Patriots for a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft. Cunningham played in 18 regular season games for the Patriots, starting six of them, and in one game in the postseason. On August 31, 2021, Cunningham was released by the Patriots.

New York Giants

On September 7, 2021, Cunningham was signed to the practice squad of the New York Giants. On October 19, 2021, Cunningham was signed to the active roster. On March 17, 2022, the Giants re-signed Cunningham. On July 22, 2022, his contract was terminated with a

non-football injury Non-football injury and non-football illness (NFI) are roster designations used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who are unable to practice as a result of conditions unrelated to football, or injuries that did not occur during NFL g ...

. On October 18, 2022, the Giants signed Cunningham to their practice squad. On November 23, 2022, Cunningham was elevated from the practice squad for week 12 game against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 22, 2023. He was released on August 27, 2023.

Death

On April 25, 2024, emergency responders found Cunningham dead at age 28 in his

Clifton, New Jersey Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area. As ...

home shortly before 3:30 p.m. EDT after he was reported unconscious. His cause of death is still under investigation.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bearcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Korey 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