The Green Bay Packers haven’t had a lot of on-field history with the Miami Dolphins, but the NFL franchise from South Beach has spent this offseason pilfering Green Bay’s coaching staff and front office to rebuild itself in the Packers’ image
First Miami hired former Green Bay Vice President of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan as its new general manager. Not long after, Sullivan tapped Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as the team’s new head coach.
Now, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report is speculating that the Dolphins are perhaps the top landing spot for backup quarterback Malik Willis. Willis will be a free agent in March and is likely going to earn the first big payday of his professional career.
“In 11 appearances and three starts with Green Bay, Willis has thrown six touchdowns with no picks and a 134.6 quarterback rating,” Knox wrote on Thursday, January 22.
“Assuming the Dolphins are done with [Tua] Tagovailoa as a starter, Miami would be a logical landing spot for Willis,” Knox continued. “Sullivan and Hafley were both hired away from the Packers’ organization and have some familiarity with Willis. Miami also has the foundation of a dynamic rushing attack in place, and Willis could complement it as a dual-threat.”
Malik Willis Should Have Strong Market in Free Agency
GettyQuarterback Malik Willis of the Green Bay Packers.
Other options exist for Willis, including potentially the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets and Cleveland Browns.
It appeared as though the 2026 draft class was going to prove deep at the quarterback position at one point early in the college football season. However, with Dante Moore choosing to go back to Oregon and other top prospects regressing on the field over the course of the year, some draft analysts are arguing that Fernando Mendoza of Indiana is the only franchise QB on the board.
The Las Vegas Raiders desperately need a quarterback of the future and own the No. 1 pick, which locks out essentially every other franchise that might use its first-rounder to take a chance on a signal-caller — at least early on.
This is only good news for Willis, who will hit the market at a time of significant need across the league at quarterback but absent a significant supply of serviceable QBs with upside.
Spotrac projects Willis’ market value at $10.6 million over one year, but several other projections floating around have Willis commanding between $35-$50 million over a three-year contract with team optionality on the third season.
Trey Lance Option as Packers’ Replacement for Malik Willis
GettyLos Angeles Chargers quarterback Trey Lance.
Regardless of the market for Willis, it is likely to price out the Packers after they spent big to lock up Jordan Love for the foreseeable future.
One name the Packers could target as a backup QB is Trey Lance, the former No. 3 overall pick of the San Francisco 49ers, who spent last season as Justin Herbert’s backup QB with the Los Angeles Chargers and will also be a free agent in March.
Lance suffered a broken ankle during his second week as the starter in his sophomore NFL campaign, eventually losing his starting job to Brock Purdy.
