For the three months of the season, the Green Bay Packers were one of the best teams in the NFL. With quarterback Jordan Love playing some of the best football of his career and star defender Micah Parsons transforming the Packers into a top defensive unit, the Packers were 9-3-1 and considered a Super Bowl contender before Parsons tore his ACL in a Week 15 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Parsons will likely return to form next season, but what stings the most is that no team enters the NFL in the same state from year-to-year. That includes backup QB Malik Willis, whose performance in relief of Love after he suffered a concussion in Week 16 has made him one of the most intriguing free agents available in the upcoming offseason.
With Love in place, it feels like Willis is destined to chase a starting opportunity, even if the Packers are keeping the door open to bring him back in 2026. Those odds skyrocketed on Thursday when NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that the Miami Dolphins are working on hiring Packers Vice President of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan as their new general manager, potentially giving Willis a likely destination when he hits the market in March.
All Signs Point to Malik Willis Joining Dolphins After Jon-Eric Sullivan's GM Hiring
Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette was the first to connect the dots when he mentioned that Willis could be a candidate to follow Sullivan to Miami when he hits free agency.
Willis came to Green Bay in a trade with the Tennessee Titans after training camp in 2024. After failing to live up to expectations as a third-round pick in the 2022 draft, Willis flashed potential when called up in Green Bay, completing 70-of-89 passes (78.7%) for 972 yards and six touchdowns in 11 appearances and his best work came in two games in place of Love, however as he completed 27-of-32 passes (84.4%) for 409 yards and two touchdowns while running 19 times for 104 yards and a couple of touchdowns.
This is enticing for any team that needs a quarterback, and Sullivan just happens to be inheriting one of those teams. Current Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa said a fresh start would be “dope” and he would “be good” if Miami chose to move in a different direction after benching him for Quinn Ewers last month.
While Sullivan could be tempted to clean the slate completely after head coach Mike McDaniel was fired on Thursday, it’s a complicated decision as cutting Tagovailoa would result in $99.2 million in dead money and a $42.8 million cap penalty before June 1, per OverTheCap. Even a trade would saddle Miami with $45.2 million in dead money, meaning Miami’s next quarterback is going to have to be cheap and effective, which makes Willis a perfect target.
Spotrac currently estimates Willis to have a market value of $10.6 million on the open market. He’s shown he can be effective enough to at least be a stopgap until a more talented quarterback class arrives in the 2027 draft, including Texas’s Arch Manning, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, and former Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola.
With Sullivan having deep roots in the Packers organization, joining the team as a training camp intern in 2003 and working his way up to his current role beginning in 2022, it would be surprising if Sullivan didn’t try to bring a little bit of Wisconsin flavor to his new job. This could only increase if Sullivan makes the other logical move and hires defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to be his next head coach.
The Packers’ initial gamble on Willis has paid off and has been ample insurance for when Love has gotten injured the past two seasons. But with Green Bay $11.3 million over the salary cap entering the offseason, there will have to be some changes going into next season. Willis appears likely to be one of those players the Packers will have to move on this spring, and it appears that South Beach will be calling his name.