The nature of the NFL is that rookie players enter the league on relatively inexpensive deals, offer the teams that drafted them significant value as they develop and then hit free agency — sometimes remaining with the franchise on a substantial new contract, but often leaving for bigger paydays from competing organizations.

It’s the latter outcome that now appears most likely for Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis, who put up arguably the best performance of his career in front of a national audience on Saturday night, December 27.

Willis, filling in for starter Jordan Love who was out with a concussion, finished the game against the visiting Baltimore Ravens with a stat line of 18-of-21 passing for 288 yards and a touchdown. Willis also rushed the football nine times for 60 yards and two TDs.

“Speaking of Willis, he’s a very intriguing free agent to watch next spring,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote December 24. “He is 26 years old and has now spent basically two full seasons being coached by Matt LaFleur … and he has played well when he has had to fill in for Love because of injury.”

“As we discussed above, there are a lot of teams that are going to be in the QB market this offseason,” Graziano continued. “Not all of them will be able to address the position via the draft, and several have their eyes on Willis as a potential solution given what he has been able to do in Green Bay. The Packers like him a lot and could try to keep him, but if he has a chance to go somewhere else and compete for a starting job, that might be tough to do.”

Malik Willis Stock Exploded on Social Media After Huge Game Against Ravens

GettyQuarterback Malik Willis of the Green Bay Packers.

Willis’s stock got even higher after his performance in the Packers’ loss to the Ravens, with league analysts and fans extolling his on-field talent and less tangible virtues across social media.

“Malik Willis looks like a starting QB, and it’s not just the arm,” Ted Nguyen of The Athletic posted to X Sunday. “It’s the poise and ability to manipulate the pocket.”

“Malik Willis was thrown into an awful situation. Labeled a bust. Given away,” a popular Packers fan account posted to X Saturday. “When Jordan Love went down last year, he stepped in and saved our season. Then he played out of his mind keeping our division hopes alive this season. Malik, you’ll always have a fan in me. Thank you.”

“Despite the loss, Malik Willis balled out and earned himself a LOT of money this coming offseason,” the Bleacher Report Gridiron account wrote on X.

Several NFL Suitors Might Give Malik Willis Shot to Start Next Season, Including Minnesota Vikings

GettyGreen Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis.

Across four years in the league, two with the Tennessee Titans and two in Green Bay, Willis has accounted for 1,322 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions while completing his passes at a rate of 67.7 percent. He has also accumulated 405 ground yards and four TDs at an average of 5.5 yards per rush.

Willis has made 22 career appearances, starting six of those games (3-3). He has enough experience to at least challenge for a starting job in the NFL in 2026, and several teams might offer him that opportunity.

Perhaps the most notable is the Minnesota Vikings, who are certain to add another quarterback or two to the mix alongside JJ McCarthy, who showed some flashes this season and got better down the stretch but has a long history of injury just two years into his career.

Willis perhaps hasn’t accomplished enough to simply walk into another locker room and immediately become the starter, but he’s certainly earned his shot. And while the Packers can’t give it to him with Love under contract through 2028, the Vikings are another story entirely.