The Miami Dolphins have a lot of question marks on the roster entering the 2026 NFL season. However, perhaps no question mark is bigger than quarterback Malik Willis, who started only six career games prior to signing a three-year, $67 million contract with the Dolphins.
The question regarding Willis is whether those three impressive performances he had while starting for the Green Bay Packers can translate to a full season as a starter. If that occurs, Miami may have a special quarterback on their hands with the potential to develop into a franchise guy.
Malik Willis’ Lackluster Performance
Unfortunately, it did not appear that Tuesday’s training camp performance was one to inspire much confidence in Willis.
Dolphins on SI’s Alain Poupart wrote in his training camp observations: “The Miami Dolphins turned up the tempo a bit in practice Tuesday, but what really stood out was how much the defense dominated — or how poorly the offense performed, depending on how you want to look at things.
Quarterback Malik Willis had perhaps his most inaccurate practice of camp, with a couple of misfires, an interception by linebacker Jackson Woodard and some ball security issues early on…
What will be remembered on this day was how much the defense had the better of the offense.
Midway through practice, Willis gathered the offensive players in a big huddle for what seemed like a pretty animated pep talk. Unfortunately for Willis and the rest of the offense, things didn’t get much better after that.”
Regarding Willis’ performance and decision to gather the offense, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik told reporters after practice, “You always want your quarterback to be a leader … When you’re going through a moment of adversity. Today wasn’t the best practice.”
Miami Dolphins vs Atlanta Falcons
Dolphins fans will hope that Tuesday’s practice, where he threw two interceptions, was simply a bump in the road for what has reportedly been an impressive training camp for Malik Willis.
Regarding whether Miami is any closer to answering the question of whether Willis can be the team’s franchise quarterback, The Miami Herald’s Omar Kelly wrote: “Too early to tell. A franchise has never invested in Willis, who is beginning his fifth NFL season, as its starting quarterback until now, and there’s no telling where that will lead us. Especially with limited talent surrounding him. But Willis has the arm strength, athleticism and personality to succeed. We just need to see how he handles adversity and adjusts to defenses taking away his favorite things once they get a book on him. The $45 million Miami guaranteed Willis hints that he has this season, and maybe next season to prove he can lead a franchise to the playoffs.”
While Friday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons is technically meaningless, it will provide Dolphins fans an opportunity to see Willis with expanded playing time, going up against the team’s former franchise quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
In his lone preseason drive, Willis drove the Dolphins down the field and led the offense to the team’s only preseason touchdown.
Dolphins Coach Sends Strong Message to Malik Willis After Lackluster Performance