The Green Bay Packers are finalizing their plans before free agency begins next week. Of course, the current stretch is an exciting time for quarterback Malik Willis, who's one of the top free-agent QBs on this year’s market.
Willis could reportedly cash in with a contract north of $30 million next week, and one suitor could be the rival Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings are in the market for a quarterback as they send mixed signals about current starter J.J. McCarthy. While Willis would be able to raise their floor, the Vikings are already fumbling that opportunity as ESPN’s Peter Schrager suggested they are a team to monitor if the Indianapolis Colts place the transition tag on Daniel Jones by Tuesday's deadline.
“The team I would watch as a possible long shot but also one that could be angling here (is the) Minnesota Vikings,” Schager said on Get Up. “Remember, Daniel Jones spent half the season with the Minnesota Vikings a year ago. Not only did Sam Darnold leave that building, Daniel Jones left that building. I think the Vikings were surprised the Colts gave Jones the money that he got last season. Keep an eye on the Vikings if the transition tag is applied.”
Jones was with the Vikings in 2024 but ultimately left to sign with the Colts on a one-year, $14 million contract with incentives.
After beating out Anthony Richardson, Jones is hitting the open market, and the Colts could place the transition tag on Jones, giving him a lower cost and the opportunity to match any contract. That would also open the door for a team like the Vikings to pry him away.
Still, Schrager’s speculation could suggest the Vikings may not know what they’re doing as the clock continues to tick until free agency begins, and it could cost them their chance to sign Willis.
Malik Willis’ Free Agent Decision Should Be Clear as Vikings Trip Over Themselves
In totality, the Vikings have a situation that should appeal to Willis.
He’d be throwing to one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, Justin Jefferson. He’d also have a strong play-caller in head coach Kevin O’Connell. The Vikings defense ranked third in total yardage and seventh in scoring last season, and he’d have the chance to play the Packers twice.
While some including The Athletic’s Alec Lewis noted that the Vikings goal “isn’t to fix the long-term quarterback situation,” and want “short-term insurance” in case McCarthy doesn’t take a step forward, others including ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Matthew Berry of NBC Sports have sent stronger hints that the Vikings may be done with McCarthy, further strengthening Willis’s appeal to head to Minnesota.
Instead, the Vikings have tripped over themselves and have been connected to Willis, Jones, Kyler Murray, Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins, Derek Carr, Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers, Mac Jones, and Tua Tagovailoa in the aftermath of last week’s scouting combine.
It would make more sense for Willis to sign with a team like the Arizona Cardinals, who are expected to release Murray in the coming weeks. Arizona also hired Matt LaFleur’s brother, Mike, as their head coach, meaning that Willis would be learning a similar offense to the one he thrived in with Green Bay the past two seasons.
Add in a truckload of money, and the decision should be obvious to Willis, and that could mean leaving one of the Packers’ biggest rivals to continue to scramble at the quarterback position.