With Super Bowl 60 taking place on Sunday night, the Green Bay Packers are almost ready to begin the Malik Willis sweepstakes. Numerous desperate franchises have created a market for Willis, who has played well serving as starting quarterback Jordan Love’s backup for the past two years, and the former 2022 third-rounder desires to find a place where he is the unquestioned starter.
The latest suitor for Willis’s services, along with the likes of the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns, is the Arizona Cardinals, who were listed in a notebook column released by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Sunday morning.
"The ties are obvious... New Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur can get intimate knowledge of Willis' game from LaFleur's brother, Matt."Jeremy Fowler, ESPN
Fowler added that the possibility of Willis joining the Cardinals could hinge on whether they're ready to move on from the incumbent QB1, Kyler Murray.
Nevertheless, while Willis is expected to leave, it’s now a matter of which team will take the plunge, and the Cardinals appear to be the newest, biggest threat to lure Willis out of Titletown.
Cardinals Have Inside Track to Malik Willis Sweepstakes
The Cardinals are in the market for a new quarterback, depending on what they decide to do with Kyler Murray. Murray is still owed roughly $125 million remaining on the five-year, $230.5 million contract extension he signed in 2022, and the Cardinals would eat $54.7 million in dead money if they decide to cut him before June 1, per OverTheCap.
While that would be a tough pill to swallow, the Cardinals could reduce that number to $17.9 million and save $34.7 million on the cap if they trade Murray before June 1. LaFleur also told reporters during his introductory press conference that no decision has been made at quarterback, meaning the Cardinals will likely try to find a trade partner in the coming weeks.
While that sounds difficult, there are enough desperate teams to make it work. The Pittsburgh Steelers could view Murray as a fallback option if ex-Packers HC Mike McCarthy can’t recruit Aaron Rodgers for one more season. The Minnesota Vikings could also go after Murray as they look to add a veteran quarterback to compete with J.J. McCarthy.
With other teams likely to jump into the bidding, the Cardinals could create a market for Murray, which could be more difficult for Hafley’s new quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa is also nearing the end of his tenure with the Dolphins, but cutting him isn’t an option with $141.4 million remaining on his four-year, $212.4 million extension signed in 2024. With three more years left on the deal, the Dolphins would be on the hook for $99.2 million if they released Murray before June 1.
While a trade would be more palatable with $45 million in dead money and $11 million in cap savings, teams may not want to add Tagovailoa’s contract to their books and pivot to Murray.
With no team willing to trade for Deshaun Watson and the Browns unwilling to eat $131.1 million in dead money to release him, it appears that the Cardinals and Dolphins are in a two-team race to ditch their quarterbacks. While another team could dive in, both would guarantee Willis a starting job when their current quarterback is dumped.
Miami could be the winner in the end thanks to Willis’s relationships with Hafley and Sullivan. Yet, at the same time, Arizona seems to have the inside track before the market picks up in a couple of weeks, leaving time to tell where Green Bay fans can expect to see the 26-year-old signal-caller next.