TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Korey Cunningham announced Wednesday on Instagram that he was traded to the New England Patriots.
The Cardinals will receive a sixth-round pick in return, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Field Yates. Cunningham later deleted the Instagram post.
Cunningham was drafted in the seventh round in 2018 by Arizona and started six games at left tackle in place of D.J. Humphries. That was all the action Cunningham saw as a rookie. He went on injured reserve in Week 17 with a foot injury.
The 6-foot-6, 311-pound Cunningham, who went to Cincinnati, lined up at first-team left tackle during training when Humphries was given days off. He was expected to be the Cardinals’ back-up left tackle in 2019 with the potential to be their swing tackle.
The Patriots have a need for a swing tackle behind projected starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn (2018 first-round pick) and veteran starting right tackle Marcus Cannon.
Coincidentally, veteran Jared Veldheer, a former Cardinal, was a top candidate to fill that role before he retired in May. Yodny Cajuste, a 2019 third-round pick out of West Virginia, was another top candidate but he remains on the non-football injury list after reportedly undergoing quad surgery before the draft.
The acquisition of Cunningham most directly affects former practice squad players Dan Skipper and Cole Croston, who were vying for that role.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss contributed to this report.