Randall W. Cunningham (born March 27, 1963 in Santa Barbara, California) is a former American football quarterback.

After playing college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he remained through the 1995 season. He announced his retirement from football following the end of that season, taking a job as an analyst for TNT in 1996 . The following year, however, he resumed his playing career. He played for the Minnesota Vikings (1997-1999), the Dallas Cowboys (2000), and the Baltimore Ravens (2001). Cunningham then re-signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and retired for good in 2002 . He won the Bert Bell Award in 1990, the height of the 'Ultimate Weapon' stories. He is the younger brother of former college and professional football player Sam Cunningham who played for the New England Patriots.

High school and college

Cunningham attended Santa Barbara High School in Santa Barbara, California, and was a graduate of the class of 1981.¹ As a senior, he led his team to a League title and the CIF Finals.²

NFL career

Philadelphia Eagles

Cunningham was the Eagles' second-round pick in the 1985 NFL Draft. Cunningham was also sought by the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits that same year. Eagles owner Norman Braman refused to negotiate with Cunningham if he accepted offers from the Bandits. Ultimately, the USFL folded, thus ending that issue. In his rookie season he played sparingly as a backup to veteran Ron Jaworski but made a big splash with his uncanny scrambling ability, though he completed just 34 percent of his passes and threw just one touchdown against eight interceptions. In 1986, new head coach Buddy Ryan arrived in Philadelphia and made wholesale changes, many of them unorthodox. At the quarterback position, Ryan designated 35-year-old Ron Jaworski the starter but would replace the aging veteran with the fleet-footed Cunningham in third-and-long situations where the youngster’s scrambling would presumably put the defense on its heels. After a hand injury to Jaworski in week 10, Cunningham would replace him as the Eagles’ starter. Cunningham was permanently handed the Eagles' starting job for the 1987 season. Cunningham was said to have reached "elite" status during the 1988 season, when he threw for 407 yards during the "Fog Bowl" playoff game against the Chicago Bears.

In a 1990 game against the Buffalo Bills, when Cunningham, throwing from his end zone, was about to be sacked by Bruce Smith. Cunningham ducked and threw a pass 60 yards to wide-receiver Fred Barnett, resulting in a 95-yard touchdown. That same year, Cunningham finished with 942 rushing yards, 3rd most ever for a quarterback, 10th best in the league.

Minnesota Vikings

Cunningham joined the Vikings in 1997 after being out of football in 1996. There he reunited with former Eagles wide receiver Cris Carter. In his first year with the Vikings, he orchestrated two late touchdown drives to defeat the New York Giants in an NFC Wild Card game at Giants Stadium.

Cunningham enjoyed the greatest season of his career in Minnesota during the 1998 campaign when he guided the Vikings to a 15-1 regular season record with 34 touchdown passes and only 10 interceptions. Cunningham had a good supporting cast that year, with All-Pro veteran Cris Carter and rookie sensation Randy Moss at receiver, and Robert Smith in the backfield. Cunningham led the league with a 106.0 passer rating while the Vikings posted a then-NFL record 556 points during the 1998 season. The Vikings cruised through the playoffs for the most part, and seemed a lock to end up in the Super Bowl, until the NFC title game against the Atlanta Falcons, which they lost 30-27 in overtime.

In his final 10 NFL seasons, Cunningham played in only 80 games, but finished his 16-year career completing 2,429 of his 4,289 attempts for 29,997 yards and 204 touchdowns, with 134 interceptions. He was sacked 484 times, second-most all time to John Elway. Cunningham also rushed for 4,928 yards on 775 carries and 35 touchdowns. He retired after the 2001 season as the NFL's all-time leader in rushing yards and carries for the quarterback position and tied for fourth with Steve Grogan in rushing touchdowns by a QB. Cunningham also averaged 30.6 rushing yards per game during his career -- second most all-time for quarterbacks, behind Michael Vick.

After retirement

After retirement, Cunningham returned to UNLV to finish his college degree. Cunningham has also been active in the Gospel music business since his retirement from the NFL by opening a recording studio and producing a Christian rap group called "Humility". Their album "Our Purpose" has yet to be released in 2008 under Cunningham's label. Cunningham, a born again Christian, became an ordained Protestant minister and founded a church called Remnant Ministries in Las Vegas in 2004.[1]

Randall recently made an appearance on Pros vs Joes in 2008.

References

External links

• "Randall Cunningham NFL career statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
• More Career Stats