One position that the Green Bay Packers didn’t have to worry about this offseason was backup quarterback. The Packers knew that Malik Willis would be their go-to QB2 for one more year after they acquired him last summer from the Tennessee Titans.
The former Titans quarterback has shown tremendous growth and development in his short stint with the Packers. Willis won two games last season while Jordan Love was injured and played well in the preseason this summer. In those two regular-season contests, he completed 75.7% of his passes for 324 yards and two TDs. Willis also added 114 rushing yards and a score on the ground.
The young dual-threat quarterback has reinvigorated his playing career, which is good and bad news for the Packers. It’s good in the fact that they need him to play, Willis should be fine taking command of the offense.
The bad news is that the Packers could lose Willis to another team this offseason. The former third-round pick is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, and based on the recent deals by other backup quarterbacks and the need for a starter, Willis could be a hot commodity.
Packers Might Not Be Able to Keep QB Malik Willis in Green Bay After 2025
Backup QBs have been getting paid throughout the last few weeks. On Aug. 20, the Chicago Bears gave Tyson Bagent a two-year, $10 million extension, before the Houston Texans signed Davis Mills to a one-year, $7 million extension on Tuesday.
Based on those numbers, one would think Willis would be in that ballpark, giving Green Bay a shot to re-sign him.
However, with the contract they gave star pass rusher Micah Parsons (four years for $186 million, $136 million guaranteed), plus the possibility of re-signing Romeo Doubs or Christian Watson, who will also be free agents, the Packers might not have much room to bring back Willis.
Over the last few offseasons, we’ve seen teams sign veteran free agents to sizable one-year deals in hopes they could start. This offseason, it was Daniel Jones getting a one-year, $14 million contract from the Indianapolis Colts.
In 2024, it was Sam Darnold getting a one-year, $10 million deal from the Minnesota Vikings, and the year before that, it was guys like Taylor Heinicke, Andy Dalton, and Jarrett Stidham receiving two-year contracts worth $10-$12 million.
With what Willis has shown last season and this summer, the case can be made that a QB-starved team could give him a similar contract to see if he’s ready to be a starting signal-caller. And if that happens, the Packers would be forced to find another flier-type QB to develop behind Love.
Could that be Clayton Tune, the former fifth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2023, who was signed to the practice squad? It’s a possibility depending on what he shows during the regular season in practice.
That said, the Packers need to start thinking about life after Willis, as he could be the next guy to make the jump from backup to starter next season.