Tough Situations Nothing New for New Dolphins Quarterback Malik Willis

You know the old saying about what the NFL stands for.

Not for Long.

That is especially true in this day in age where patience is at an all-time low. Succeed immediately, or the team will find someone else to replace you.

Malik Willis learned that the hard way in Tennessee. After two seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Willis had fallen out of favor, and faced an uncertain future.

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Fast forward not even two full years, and Willis is now entrenched as the new starting quarterback of the Miami Dolphins after being highly sought after in free agency.

Less than 24 months after nobody wanted him, everybody wanted him.

“Any team that is potentially in a needy quarterback situation, if they tell you they’re not talking about Malik Willis, that would be a lie,” New Dolphins General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said at the NFL Combine.

“Very happy for Malik on a personal level, the situation he’s put himself in. It’s a testament to him and how he played in the opportunities he got. I wish Malik the best. A lot of like for the human being. He’s a great kid.”

Of course, nothing is smooth sailing in the NFL. Even fewer things seem to sail smoothly when Willis is involved.

Shortly after the Dolphins signed Willis, they began the process of tearing down their roster and some of the talent around him. The big move, of course, came with the trade of Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos.

As a result, the Dolphins are armed with two first-round picks in April’s draft, but that could mean little to Willis, who will be surrounded by a depleted roster as he tries to establish himself as a starting quarterback in his new environment.

The Dolphins are in the midst of a rebuild, but teams are simply not given leeway to lose, regardless of the situations they’re in. The Dolphins are looking to win and build a foundation for years to come.

Asking Willis to do that with a brand new set of receivers who are either unknown, or unproductive is not ideal.

Nothing New

Of course, situations that are not ideal are nothing new to Willis.

If his time in Green Bay, which Hafley and Sullivan saw up close and personal are any indicator of what’s to come next, difficult is just the way Willis likes it.

At the end of training camp in 2024, Willis was traded to the Green Bay Packers for a conditional seventh-round pick.

That is the least amount of compensation that a team can trade for a player.

Had the Packers not made a trade for Willis, he likely would have been released, which could have led to him bouncing around practice squads. Ultimately, he never would have gotten the opportunity in Green Bay that changed his life.

The situation, as he traded in Titan blue for Packer green was not ideal. Willis was being asked to learn a new system and meet new teammates entirely on the fly.

Mere days after the Packers had traded for Willis to be the backup quarterback to Jordan Love in Green Bay, and Love went down with a knee injury in the first game of the season.

As Love was being carried off the field by Green Bay’s staff, Willis was asked to do something that was not going to be fair to anyone put in that position.

Play in a system that you’ve only been in for a couple of weeks. Play well, and win.

The Packers were 0-1, and with Love facing a 2-6 week recovery timeline, a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations was circling the drain with a normal outcome for a backup quarterback.

This was not a normal situation, as the Packers and Willis would both find out.

Willis started nine days later against the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field. He was not asked to do much, but threw a touchdown pass to Dontayvion Wicks, and completed a big throw to Romeo Doubs late in the game to help the Packers drain the clock.

His final stat line was modest. He completed 12-of-14 passes for 122 yards and one touchdown. He added 41 yards on the ground, and the Packers won 16-10.

After the game, Packers’ coach Matt LaFleur could not have been happier with his new quarterback.

“I don’t think you guys can appreciate, or even comprehend, the task that Malik Willis [had] — I mean, this guy got here three weeks ago,” head coach Matt LaFleur said after the game ended.

“For him to be able to go out there and command our offense — we still had a lot of long calls. We had shifts, motions, a ton of different run schemes.”

Malik Willis really hit the Ravens with a no-look pass after evading all this pressure. pic.twitter.com/HziJykcTNE
— Tyler Brooke (@TylerDBrooke) December 28, 2025

“There was a lot put on his plate, and for him to be able to go out there and do what he did today, I think that speaks volumes of who he is as a person and the work that he’s put in. Just super proud of him. I think our coaches did a great job preparing him. Yeah, just really happy and proud of our football team.”

Willis would be better the following week against his former team, the Titans, leading the Packers to 30 points and another victory.

He’d have to step in for Love again late in October, hitting Jayden Reed deep down the left sideline to set up a game-winning field goal.

For the first time since Love himself was the backup quarterback, the Packers had a backup they could feel good about controlling a game if their starter went down.

Willis came into the 2025 season in the same situation he was in the year before. His contract was expiring, and the Packers were simply hoping he’d never have to play outside of the preseason.

Willis did get a few reps in relief against the New York Giants while Love was being checked out for a shoulder injury, and threw a touchdown pass to Christian Watson.

He’d come in relief again when Love was lost with a concussion against the Chicago Bears on December 20.

The game that clinched Willis’ status as a future starting quarterback, however, came after Christmas when he was asked to start against the Baltimore Ravens.

Putting on the Cape

Green Bay’s defense was dreadful that night, which forced Willis into a position most teams don’t want to ask their backup quarterback to be in.

He could not manage the game. He had to put on Superman’s cape.

Did he ever.

Willis completed 18-of-21 passes for 288 yards and one touchdown. He also ran the ball nine times for 60 yards and two touchdowns. Willis gained 348 yards by himself. As a team, the Packers finished with 363.

He was their entire offense, and their hopes of a win all but ended when Willis went to the locker room to get his injured shoulder looked at.

The outcome did not go in Green Bay’s favor that night, but it certainly fell in favor of Willis.

His performance came after a week where he was hardly able to practice. Another difficult situation, which just became the norm for Willis in Green Bay.

What also became the norm, was Willis thriving despite the circumstances surrounding him. How was he able to do that?

“Just leaning on my own understanding,” Willis said after the game against Baltimore. “Obviously, you want to take reps if you feel like you’re going to play in the game, but just trusting in God’s plan for my life. Trusting in all the reps that we got this offseason and actually being here in the offense and going into my second year, I think has been great.”

Willis never played in Green Bay again, and is now entrenched as the starting quarterback in Miami.

The situation in Miami sees Willis in a situation where he’s trying to guide a team through a rebuild. That could mean the departure of more established players on the roster in favor of younger guys.

It’s not a perfect plug-and-play situation for Willis as the final piece of a team that was simply a quarterback away from competing for a championship.

Then again, if it was perfect, it wouldn’t be right for someone like Willis who has shown the ability to navigate difficult situations with ease.