Packers Free Agent Preview: Replacing Brilliant Quarterback Malik Willis

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Through equal parts brilliant general managership and excellent coaching, the Green Bay Packers enjoyed two years of elite backup quarterback play from Malik Willis. Willis is set to be an unrestricted free agent and will be a hot commodity when the so-called legal tampering period begins on March 9.

Here is a Packers-centric look at free agency, with Part 1 focusing on the quarterbacks.

Any Packers in Free Agency?

Yes, Malik Willis.

We’ve used these numbers before but they’re worth repeating because of their absurdity. Willis in 2025 threw 35 passes and started one game. Using those numbers as the threshold, there were 115 individual quarterbacking seasons in 2024 and 2025. Here’s how those seasons ranked.

Passer rating: 1, Willis, 145.5 in 2025; 2, Willis, 124.8 in 2024.

Completion percentage: 1, Willis, 85.7 in 2025; 3, Willis, 74.1 in 2024.

Yards per attempt: 1, Willis, 12.1 in 2025; 2, Willis, 10.2 in 2024.

Yards per completion: 3, Willis, 14.1 in 2025; 4, Willis, 13.8 in 2024.

Yes, those are small and precise thresholds. Nonetheless, it’s impossible to overstate what Willis did for the Packers. In 2024, he had barely unpacked his suitcase when he started wins against the Colts and Titans. In 2025, he never took the starter’s reps at practice. Even when he started and lit up the Ravens in Week 17, Jordan Love took the No. 1 reps at practice under the belief he’d get out of the concussion protocol.

Simply put, Willis was brilliant and has earned the right to run the show.

Packers Free Agent Outlook

There is a 0.0 percent chance that Willis will return as the backup. General manager Brian Gutekunst acted proactively late in the season.

Desmond Ridder was a third-round pick in the 2022 draft; he was taken 12 spots ahead of Willis. He has started 18 games and thrown 588 passes in his career. That’s, obviously, about a full-season sample size. He threw for 4,002 yards with a 63.6 percent completion rate. With 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, his passer rating was 82.6. His career record as a starter is 8-10.

“Yeah, we didn’t have him for very long, but was very excited when he was with us,” Gutekunst said at the Scouting Combine. “Certainly, we’ve scouted him over a number of years. He brings some elements we would like in a backup quarterback. I think he’s got a little bit of upside.”

The Packers signed Kyle McCord, a sixth-round pick by the Eagles in 2025, to a futures contract in January. He didn’t make the Eagles’ roster and didn’t play in a game as a rookie, but threw for 4,779 yards in 2024 at Syracuse.

“Obviously, spent some time at Ohio State, had a really good year at Syracuse his final year,” Gutekunst said. “We really liked his moxie and he won a bunch of games at both places.”

Free Agent Quarterbacks Who Could Interest Packers

By our ranking, the top free agents are Willis, the Colts’ Daniel Jones and four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers. There is zero chance any of them will sign with Green Bay. Here are some other options (Sept. 1 age in parentheses).

Perhaps Marcus Mariota's best season in the NFL came in 2018, when Matt LaFleur was his offensive coordinator. | George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Marcus Mariota, Commanders (32): Mariota has started 40 games in 11 seasons. The second pick of the 2015 draft by the Titans, his offensive coordinator in 2018 was Matt LaFleur. He completed a career-high 68.9 percent of his passes with a second-best 92.3 passer rating that season. In 2025, he went 2-6 as starter for Washington – his first starts since 2022 – and completed 61.2 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns, seven interceptions and an 86.1 passer rating. He added 297 rushing yards (5.9 average).

Mitchell Trubisky (32): The second pick of the 2017 draft by the Bears, Trubisky has 45 career starts in nine seasons. He was Josh Allen’s backup in Buffalo the last two seasons and played well in small bits. In 61 attempts in two seasons, he completed 72.1 percent of his six passes with six touchdowns and zero interceptions. He’s averaged 4.5 yards per rush for his career.

Joe Flacco, Bengals (41): Flacco has started 201 games in 18 seasons. He went 2-8 as a starter in 2025, with a win over the Packers while with the Browns and a loss against the Packers while with the Bengals. He wasn’t good in either game. Playing with a better supporting cast in Cincinnati, he completed 61.7 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 91.0 passer rating. Who knows if he’d be willing to sign as a backup.

Jimmy Garoppolo (34): After starting 55 games in six seasons for the 49ers, Garoppolo spent 2023 with the Raiders and the last two seasons with the Rams. He started six games with the Raiders and had a 77.7 rating. In 2024, he played in one game, a start in which he was 27-of-41 passing for 334 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He didn’t throw a pass in 2025. In his seasons with at least five starts, he’s averaged more than 2.0 yards per rush only once. He’d have a base knowledge of Matt LaFleur’s offense.

Kenny Pickett (28): A first-round pick by the Steelers in 2022 with 27 career starts, he went 7-5 in back-to-back seasons in Pittsburgh, 1-0 with Philadelphia in 2024 and 1-1 in Las Vegas in 2025. Last season, he completed 62.2 percent of his passes with one touchdown, two interceptions and a 60.2 rating. For his career, his passer rating is 78.2 and he’s averaged 3.0 yards per carry.

Russell Wilson (37): Wilson has started 202 games in 14 seasons. After a superb 10-year run with Seattle, he spent two years with Denver, one year with Pittsburgh and last year with the Giants. In three starts in 2025, he completed 58.0 percent of his passes with three touchdowns, three interceptions and a 77.4 passer rating. He added 5.9 yards per carry. For Pittsburgh, he threw 16 touchdowns and five interceptions for a 95.6 rating. As with Flacco, would he be willing to be a pure backup?

Tyrod Taylor (37): Taylor has started 62 games in 15 seasons for seven teams, with 43 of them coming about a decade ago. Last season with the Jets, he started four games (went 1-3) and completed 59.7 percent of his passes with five touchdowns, five interceptions and a 72.9 rating. He can still move with a 5.3-yard average.

The Reclamation Project

Zach Wilson (27): The second pick of the 2021 draft, Wilson went 12-21 as a starter for the Jets in his first three seasons. He completed just 57.0 percent of his passes with 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions and a 73.2 passer rating. He didn’t play in a game in 2024 and was 6-of-11 passing for 32 yards last year with Miami. He’s young, talented and athletic, and perhaps worth a Hail Mary.

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