This offseason, the Miami Dolphins underwent a major roster makeover.
The team cut ties with Tyreek Hill, Tua Tagovailoa, Bradley Chubb, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jaylen Waddle. While the moves may have made the Dolphins worse in the short term, they were also made with the idea of undergoing a youth movement and improving their salary cap situation moving forward.
As a result, Miami avoided making major moves in free agency. However, there was one notable exception. As the legal tampering period of free agency began, the Miami Dolphins agreed to a three-year, $67 million contract with former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis.
The move reunited Willis with Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who is now Miami’s head coach, and Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, who is now Miami’s general manager. And while Miami’s decision-makers having experience with Willis likely factored into the decision to sign him in free agency, one NFL analyst seems to believe that Willis’ time in Miami may not last long.
Malik Willis’ Future in Miami
ESPN’s Dan Graziano listed the Miami Dolphins as one of 16 teams with questions at the quarterback position. That led him to write that the team’s most likely outcome at the position after 2026 was: “The Dolphins finish as one of the worst teams in the league, and while Willis has his moments, he doesn’t do enough to dissuade them from picking one of the star quarterbacks in the 2027 draft class.”
Regarding Miami’s situation with Willis, Graziano wrote: “Willis is, however, still a speculative play. He has started a total of six NFL games across four seasons since the Titans selected him in the third round of the 2022 draft. He has plenty of talent, and the time spent in Green Bay with Matt LaFleur and that staff seemed to improve his game in many ways. But neither we nor the Dolphins know for sure whether he can hold up as a full-season starter. Add to that the fact that the Dolphins stripped down their roster a fair bit this offseason, including trading away receiver Jaylen Waddle and releasing receiver Tyreek Hill. Willis is left with an inexperienced receiving corps and a rebuilding team that’s projected for a league-low 4.8 wins, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.
If he flops, sure, that $21.5 million guarantee in 2027 won’t be fun. But the Dolphins are taking massive dead-money cap hits this season in order to keep the books clean for future years. If Willis shows he’s not up to this, moving on from him (or just benching him) in 2027 wouldn’t be financially prohibitive.”
Malik Willis’ Supporting Cast With the Miami Dolphins
As Graziano wrote, Willis is a speculative play due to his inexperience as an NFL starter. However, his training camp performance has impressed members of the Miami media. The Miami Herald’s Omar Kelly wrote: “Hopefully the quarterback Miami guaranteed $45 million over the next two seasons to as a free agent will blossom into a respectable, if not top shelf NFL starter in time. Based on what we’ve watched during the first three weeks of training camp, and the one drive he had in Friday night’s preseason loss to the Washington Commanders, which ended with a 1-yard touchdown from De’Von Achane that capped a 93-yard drive, there are hints he’s got the talent to do so.”
However, Kelly shared Graziano’s concerns about the talent that surrounds Willis after the team traded Waddle. Kelly added, “Now let’s assess what the Dolphins have put around Willis, and ask ourselves if it’s going to be fair to evaluate a fifth-year quarterback, who has started six regular season games in his career, as a player worthy of the franchise quarterback label. He’s playing behind a thin and fragile offensive line, whose starters played well Friday night, and with three viable weapons, players that would be starters for any of the 31 other NFL teams.”
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