Dolphins reporter shares alarming Malik Willis, Quinn Ewers update

A March report indicated that the Miami Dolphins could have Malik Willis compete with 2025 seventh-round draft pick Quinn Ewers for the starting quarterback job, even though Miami signed Willis to a three-year, $67.5M contract with $45M of the deal fully guaranteed that same month. 

There's no indication that Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley regret the Willis contract, but it also sounds like Willis has left much to be desired with his performances throughout the spring. 

Has Quinn Ewers and not Malik Willis been the Dolphins' best quarterback this spring?

"Ewers, a 2025 seventh-round pick, is fighting an uphill battle to even the playing field, no matter how impressive he has looked in organized team activities and Miami’s minicamp practices, which will wrap up next week," Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald wrote for a piece published on Thursday night. "And for the record, Ewers’ game has shown significant growth. There are some days he has outperformed Willis in the sessions the media has watched."

Willis mostly earned his contract with the Dolphins because he played well for the Green Bay Packers in two December 2025 appearances. That said, the 2022 third-round draft pick remains an unproven commodity who has made just six career regular-season starts. 

Some members of the NFL community believe Sullivan may already be thinking about which quarterback the Dolphins could target in next year's draft. As for Ewers, he went 1-2 across three starts and completed 66.3 percent of his pass attempts for 622 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions as a rookie.

Quinn Ewers "is taking the next step" in his development

"So far Ewers looks like a quarterback who is taking the next step," Kelly continued, "and a contributing factor to that is that there’s carryover between the offense he learned last season under (former head coach) Mike McDaniel and the one [offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik] is installing since they come from the same West Coast offensive tree."

Kelly noted that the "finances committed to Willis" make it likely that the free-agency signing will ultimately get the nod for Miami's Week 1 game at the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 13. However, the Dolphins could be a few summer practices away from having a legitimate quarterback controversy on their hands.