If one thing is clear about Malik Willis‘ next team, it’s that it won’t be the Green Bay Packers. Willis outperformed his $1.4 million salary in 2025 by a mile, setting him up for a payday in the $10 million annual value range in free agency. Perhaps his most natural landing spot, from a narrative perspective, would be to follow Jeff Hafley and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan to Miami to play quarterback for the Dolphins.
There is, however, an elephant in the room – namely, Tua Tagovailoa’s poor play on a gargantuan contract the Dolphins have no realistic hope of escaping in the near future. Even if it would be the best thing for the roster, cutting Tua for next season would result in a massive cap hit. That bullet is probably too big to bite for ownership.
Do the Dolphins just bench him, then, meanwhile paying him over $56 million? That also seems untenable, at least to begin the season. Because of the Tua situation ensnaring the franchise, Willis is better off choosing opportunity over familiarity as he decides on his destination.
Willis won’t have same obstacles elsewhere that mess in Miami would involve
Tua may very well be benched at some point next year. With Mike McDaniel out and Hafley in, the incumbent coach-to-quarterback connection has disappeared. No more favors or preferential treatment. Tagovailoa already took a seat at the end of this season as the Dolphins rolled out rookie Quinn Ewers for the final three games.
Willis would have a legitimate shot to steal Tua’s job if he signed a deal with the Dolphins.
He’ll have plenty of better opportunities elsewhere. This season for the Packers, Willis showed the NFL world what he is made of with stellar outings in Weeks 16 and 17. Against the Bears when Jordan Love got hurt, Willis came in and gave Green Bay more than enough to win the game. Porous late-game defense and a special teams blunder got in the way of that with an onside kick recovery.
Willis’ final line: 9-11 for 121 yards and a touchdown through the air, plus 10 carries for 44 yards.
With Love stuck in concussion protocol, his backup once again rose to the occasion versus Baltimore. Somehow Willis was even better, going 18-21 for 288 passing yards and a touchdown. He carried nine times for 60 yards and scored twice.
Willis showcased much of the same talent last season when Love was injured. In two years in Green Bay, he went 70-89 for 972 yards, 6 TDs and no interceptions. That amounts to a passer rating of 134.6 and a QBR of 77.3, which would have led the league this season.
He also rushed 42 times for 261 yards, better than six yards per carry, three scores, and 15 first downs. After a dismal start to his career with the Titans, Willis has completely revitalized his reputation.
Where will he end up next season, either as a high-tier backup or, quite possibly, as a stopgap starter who might become something more if given the chance. Willis would have been an upgrade at the position for at least a third of the league in 2025, and many of those teams should remain open next year.
Will the Colts bring back Daniel Jones? The Steelers have no quarterback to speak of barring an unlikely Aaron Rodgers return. The best the Cardinals can do is Jacoby Brissett. The Falcons have a young quarterback who can’t stay healthy in Michael Penix. The Vikings may be courting disaster with J.J. McCarthy. The Browns are clueless as usual. Ditto for the Jets after a failed Justin Fields experiment.
Willis could show up for any of those teams and compete for the starting job. In many such cases he would be the favorite to win it.
All that to say that, while joining Hafley and Sullivan might make for a compelling storyline, Willis stands to benefit far more from signing with a team unburdened by Tua turmoil. Wherever he ends up, tracking his career from hereon out should provide a worthwhile sideplot for Packers fans. They’ll be wishing him the best.
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