Randall Cunningham
Randall Cunningham was born in Santa Barbara, California, United States on March 27th, 1963 and is the Football Player. At the age of 61, Randall Cunningham biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 61 years old, Randall Cunningham has this physical status:
Randall Wade Cunningham (born March 27, 1963) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL).
He played in the NFL for 16 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Cunningham is also known for his tenure with the Minnesota Vikings.
He is the younger brother of former college and professional football player Sam Cunningham and the father of Randall Cunningham II and world champion high jumper Vashti Cunningham.
Cunningham was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016. After playing college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Cunningham was selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Eagles, with whom he remained through the 1995 season.
Following 11 seasons with the team, he announced his retirement from football, but returned after a year away from the game to join the Vikings.
In 1998, Cunningham enjoyed the strongest season of his career and helped the team set the NFL record for most points in a regular season at the time, although the Vikings would be upset in the NFC Championship Game.
He was released by the Vikings following the 1999 season after failing to match his success during the previous year.
In his final two seasons, he played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens for one year each, primarily as a backup.
Upon retiring for a second and final time, Cunningham became an ordained Protestant minister and a coach at Silverado High School.
Professional career
Cunningham was the Eagles' second-round pick and the first quarterback to be drafted in the 1985 NFL Draft. Cunningham was also sought by the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League the same year. Norman Braman, the Eagles' owner, refused to negotiate with Cunningham if the Bandits had accepted their bids. In the end, the USFL folded, putting the issue out of view. He appeared sparingly as a back-up to veteran Ron Jaworski in his rookie season, but he made a big splash with his uncanny scrambling ability, despite finishing just 34 percent of his passes and only throwing one touchdown against eight interceptions. Buddy Ryan, the new head coach of Philadelphia, arrived in 1986 and made wholesale reforms, many of which were revolutionary, owing to his defensive-minded approach. Ryan drafted 35-year-old Ron Jaworski as the starter, but Cunningham will swap the aging veteran with the fleet-footed Cunningham in third-and-a-long situations, where the defense would inevitably have to defend the defense. Cunningham will replace Jaworski in week 10 after suffering a hand injury in week 10. Despite his limited service and speed, the Eagles' porous offensive line allowed him to be fired 72 times in a franchise record, which was a franchise record. Cunningham was voted to the Eagles' starting job for the 1987 season. Cunningham was thought to have earned "elite" status during the 1988 season when he was selected by league players as the NFC starting quarterback for the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl (the first black quarterback to be named a starter). He and fellow Eagle Pro Bowler Reggie White joined the Eagles to win the NFC Eastern Division Championship in the same year. Cunningham threw 54 passes for 407 yards on the "Fog Bowl" 20–12 loss to the Chicago Bears, both of which are playoff franchise records. He also posted the franchise record of three interceptions in the same game, which was unfortunate. Cunningham was named game MVP in the NFC's subsequent Pro Bowl, 28–3.
Cunningham also set the franchise record with 62 passes against the Chicago Bears in 1989, which was also against the Chicago Bears. While at UNLV, he was an all-conference quarterback and punter, and he launched a 91-yard foul against the Giants on December 3, the longest in Eagles history (and the fourth-longest ever). He made 20 punts in his career, with an average of 44.7 yards per punt.
Cunningham, who was throwing from his end zone in a 1990 game against the Buffalo Bills, was about to be sacked by Bruce Smith from his blind team. Cunningham threw a pass 60 yards to wide receiver Fred Barnett, resulting in a 95-yard touchdown. Cunningham finished with 942 passing yards, the fourth most for a quarterback, and tenth best in the league, in that same year. He had 8.0 yards per rush, the most by an Eagle in any position with 100 attempts on the season and the third most in NFL history.
In 1991, Cunningham's season came to an end when he was intercepted by Bryce Paup of the Green Bay Packers and tore his anterior cruciate ligament. He would be back to the Eagles in complete recovery after the team's first playoff victory in 12 years. However, it was clear that the injury he suffered took away a lot of his speed and athleticism. A string of nagging injuries and a change to the West Coast Offense that culminated in Rodney Peete's suspension in favour of veteran Rodney Peete, the 1993 and 1994 seasons would be marred by a string of nagging injuries and a change to the West Coast Offense that culminated in his benching in favour of veteran Rodney Peete. Cunningham retired from football after the 1995 season, feeling as if the fans and organisation did not fully appreciate his contributions to the team's success, as well as being unhappy with his job as a back-up.
He left Philadelphia with the third most rushing yards in Eagles history, with 4,482, behind Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren and Wilbert Montgomery, although he has since dropped to sixth after Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook, and LeSean McCoy all rushed for more yards than him. He finished second only in passing yards to Ron Jaworski with 22,877 yards, though Donovan McNabb defeated him later. With 6.62 yards per rush attempt, 422 sacks, and a 6.5 yard pass attempt in playoff games, he holds the Eagles' record of 6.62 yards per rush attempt, 422 interceptions, and a 6.5 yards per pass attempt.
After being out of football in 1996, Cunningham joined the Vikings in 1997. Dennis Green, the Vikings' coach, called him when he was on a work site for his granite quarry. Cris Carter, the former Eagles wide receiver, was reunited with him. In his first year with the Vikings, he orchestrated two late scoring drives to bring them back from a 9-point deficit to defeat the New York Giants in an NFC Wild Card match at Giants Stadium, 23-22. In the Divisional Round, the Vikings lost to Steve Young and the San Francisco 49ers.
Cunningham had his best season of his career in Minnesota during the 1998 season, when he led the Vikings to a 15-point average, only 10 interceptions, and 3,704 passing yards. Cunningham's year with Cris Carter, rookie Randy Moss, and Jake Reed at wide receiver, as well as Leroy Hoard at running back, had a strong supporting cast. Cunningham led the league with a 106.0 passer rating when the Vikings posted a then-NFL record 556 points during the 1998 season, making him the first black quarterback to lead the league in that category. Cunningham said the Vikings' 37-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night was "the best night of my football career." He passed for 442 yards and four touchdowns. However, the Vikings fell short of the Super Bowl by a field goal in overtime to the underdog Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game.
Cunningham was suspended again in the early stages of the 1999 season after throwing nine interceptions in only six games, this time in favour of Jeff George. Cunningham was released after the team announced that second-year quarterback Daunte Culpepper would be the starter before the 2000 season.
Cunningham signed with the Dallas Cowboys just short of the 2000 season to play as a back-up to Troy Aikman. Cunningham took over at quarterback after a string of concussions ended Aikman's season and ultimately his career. Despite a 1–2 record as a starter, he continued his good play (849 yards passing with 6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions). A return to Philadelphia was one of the many occurrences during his Cowboy days. Donovan McNabb, the new Eagles quarterback, started the game and blamed everyone else. The game was decided in overtime, with the Eagles winning by a field goal. On his return to Philadelphia, he received a mixed reception of cheers and boos. The Cowboys' 5–11 subpar years resulted in significant roster expansions, and Cunningham was one of the many changes. He reached incentive clauses that ended his deal and made him an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Since the Cowboys re-signed quarterback Tony Banks instead, he was not re-signed.
He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens on May 29, 2001, reuniting with head coach Brian Billick, who was his offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings. Cunningham had intended to be the third-string quarterback, but after doing better than Chris Redman, he was named as the back-up. As a starter, he went 2–0. After the Ravens drafted quarterback Jeff Blake instead, he was not re-signed. Cunningham resigned on August 15, 2002, after signing a one-day deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Cunningham played in just 80 games over his final ten NFL seasons, but he finished his 16-year career with 2,429 attempts for 29,979 yards and 207 touchdowns, with 134 interceptions. He was fired 484 times, finishing third in all time behind (2nd) John Elway with 516 sacks, and (1st) Brett Favre with 525 sacks. Cunningham was also rushed for 4,928 yards on 775 attempts and 35 touchdowns. He resigned after the 2001 season as the NFL's all-time leader in rush yards and carries for the quarterback position (a record set by Michael Vick in 2011), and tied for fourth by a quarterback in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. Cunningham's career saw him average 30.6 yards per game—second most all-time quarterbacks behind Michael Vick.