Not Sure What To Expect From Malik Willis

Not Sure What To Expect From Malik Willis

The Miami Dolphins are starting a new era with new GM Jon Eric Sullivan and HC Jeff Hafley. With the new era comes a new quarterback, and the Dolphins signed Malik Willis to a 3-year deal worth over $60 million and $45 million guaranteed.

There is some excitement for Willis heading into the season, as he brings a different skill set from the previous quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa: he is more athletic and has a stronger arm. The problem is, he has only had 6 starts in his 4 years as a player, and this will be his first season as the anointed starter. 

I understand why Sully signed him, as he and Hafley watched Willis up close for the last two years in Green Bay, so they know what they have. However, he had a much better team around him in Green Bay, whereas he comes to the Dolphins in a rebuilding situation. He doesn’t have any real starting receivers or tight ends that would be starters on other teams in the NFL, so how will he do with less talent? 

I just didn’t want to see the Dolphins sign him because they are going through salary cap hell, with $180 in dead cap space, and throwing money at an unproven quarterback is a roll of the dice to me. While Willis does have an intriguing skill set to play the position. How is he going to do in pressure situations throughout the whole season with the ups and downs as a starting quarterback?  

I remember Willis’ first game, starting with the Tennessee Titans on a Sunday Night Football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium in 2022. Willis was God-awful as he completed 5 of 16 passes and looked like he wasn’t ready to play, which he even admitted this offseason.

He did show his athletic ability, but as a passer, he wasn’t good. The Titans lost in overtime, but if he were a competent passer, then he could have won the game. The fact that Titans didn’t start him at the end of the 2023 season, when Ryan Tannehill got hurt, spoke volumes to me, as he was passed over in favor of rookie Will Levis. 

The Titans traded Willis to the Green Bay Packers to back-up starter Jordan Love, and when he got the opportunity to start when Love got hurt, Willis played well. He looked like a different quarterback, and it’s probably because he got coached up well by the Packers coaching staff with Matt LaFleur as HC. He also had a better team around him as the Packers are one of the best built franchises in the league in playoff contention every year. 

 The question is, how will Willis’ experience from the Packers translate to the Dolphins? I don’t know because it’s a small sample size to give a player, especially the quarterback, $45 million guaranteed after only 6 starts in his career.  

I am intrigued by Willis’ athletic ability in that he can extend play when the pocket collapses, which is something you need in a quarterback nowadays, and the Dolphins haven’t had a quarterback like that. You also need a quarterback who can make throws with the game on the line, and I don’t know about Willis.  

The Dolphins really have nothing to lose in a way because they are in a rebuilding situation with Sully and Hafley, so they are bringing in someone they know. Can he be a franchise quarterback? I don’t know, but we will find out this year what kind of quarterback Willis is. I just have low expectations with his signing because of all the unknowns about him as a starter, with 6 games started in 4 seasons.  

We have seen quarterbacks with limited experience get money thrown at them and team trade high picks for them and flame out like Scott Mitchell, Rob Johnson, AJ Feely, and others. However, there are other quarterbacks like Brett Favre and Matt Hasselbeck that had limited experience, and teams traded 1st round picks for them, and they blossomed. In Favre’s case, he went to the Hall of Fame. It’s a roll of the dice, but let’s hope the Dolphins get some form of latter in Hasselbeck and Favre.