What the Major Malik Willis Update Means for the Dolphins Offense

Turned out Malik Willis' groin injury was much more than a minor issue through which he was playing.

The Miami Dolphins quarterback is going to miss at least the next four games, as he's headed to injured reserve because of what is being described as a "core muscle injury."

The Dolphins are placing QB Malik Willis on injured reserve, sources tell @ringer @netflixsports.

Willis has been battling a groin injury that impacted his mobility. An MRI showed it has now developed into a core muscle injury, which requires rest. Not season-ending, but he’ll… pic.twitter.com/UoTDWWVHsl
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 10, 2026

The Dolphins made the move official late Tuesday afternoon when they announced that Willis would be joining defensive tackle Zach Sieler on injured reserve and that cornerback Reese Taylor was being waived.

Willis was visibly hampered by the injury during the Dolphins' 19-9 loss against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, lacking his normal explosiveness on those few occasions when he scrambled out of the pocket.

After downplaying twice earlier this season injury issues, including after the Week 8 game against the New England Patriots after he was on the injury report during the week, Willis acknowledged his groin felt "tight" against Detroit.

Head coach Jeff Hafley moved his normal press conference from 2:45 p.m. to noon Monday, and then said he didn't have any update on Willis' condition at that time and would be able to share more information Wednesday.

Willis will have to miss at least the next four games, scheduled against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Week 10, the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium in Week 11, the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 12, and the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium in Week 13.

GETTING WILLIS RIGHT IS THE PRIORITY

Since the start of the regular season, Willis has dealt with toe, thumb and now this latest issue.

The first time we really noticed him being impacted was that New England game when he had one rushing attempt — a third-and-1 QB sneak at that — after having eight against both the Bengals and New York Jets when he had his best performance of the season.

While Willis denied anything was wrong after the New England game, there was no more hiding it after the Detroit game when he clearly looked hampered while scrambling.

And even one of those scrambles was good enough for a first down, except that Aaron Brewer was flagged for holding.

And, let's be real, Willis being restricted to pocket passing because of a groin injury isn't doing anybody any favors.

Based on the limited sample size we've gotten so far with the Dolphins, it looks like maybe Willis could be a Jalen Hurts type with more arm talent.

But Willis at less than 100 percent and barely able to run — that includes scrambling away from pressure or picking up first downs — just isn't going to work very often. Particularly at this stage with the supporting cast he has.

So this is where we earlier suggested that unless Willis' groin was totally fine as the week of practice begins, Hafley should strongly consider sitting Willis against Indianapolis to make sure he gets right physically so the evaluation can resume properly.

The bottom line is Willis deserves more time before any judgments are made, though it's unrealistic to expect every fan to not want big results yesterday.

But Willis also needs to be at his best physically when he's in the lineup.

WHAT NOW AT QUARTERBACK?

With Willis on injured reserve, the Dolphins now will turn to first-year player Kyle McCord, who will be looking at playing in his first NFL game against the Colts on Sunday.

The likelihood is the Dolphins eventually will sign Brady Cook from their practice squad to the active roster to make sure he doesn't get poached and they're left without a backup, though perhaps a veteran could be on the way.

McCord, of course, was acquired in late August in a trade with the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a 2028 sixth-round pick, the same one they got from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for 2025 backup quarterback Quinn Ewers.

McCord was on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad last year after he failed to make the team as a rookie sixth-round pick, and he then signed with the Packers this offseason.

While word out of Green Bay was that McCord looked good in training camp and the preseason, he didn't impress the Packers enough to convince them to move away from their practice of keeping only two quarterbacks on the 53 and he lost out to veteran Tyrod Taylor. The Packers were intent of re-signing him to the practice squad after waiving him, but figured he wouldn't clear waivers so instead they traded him to the Dolphins.

Because of the timing of the trade, McCord never appeared in the preseason for the Dolphins.

While Willis' work has been uneven so far in his first season as Dolphins quarterback, Hafley often has suggested he's almost like a rookie because of his limited body of work in his first four seasons in the NFL.

With McCord, that's even more accurate because this is a player who has yet to play in an NFL game.

There are good physical traits with which to work, but if there were growing pains with Willis at quarterback, it's probably fair to expect the same with McCord.

But now he's got a four-game mini-audition to show Hafley and the Dolphins coaches what he could offer and what his potential ceiling might look like.

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