After five years as the team’s unquestioned starter, the Miami Dolphins made the decision to bench Tua Tagovailoa for poor performance. He had previously missed time with injuries; however, Tagovailoa had not been benched since his rookie season. As a rookie, Tagovailoa did not have a firm grasp on the playbook and he was benched during games as veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick had a better understanding of the system. This year, the playbook was not the issue for Tagovailoa, but instead his failure to lead Miami’s offense with consistency.
During the season, Tagovailoa was tied for the league lead in interceptions and had his lowest passer rating and QBR since his rookie season. Following Miami’s Week 15 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football, the team opted to go with seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers as the team’s starter. Ewers went 1-2 in three games as the starter and was 55-for-83 with 622 passing yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Following the season, former head coach Mike McDaniel was asked about the possibility of Ewers remaining the team’s quarterback. He said, “I wouldn’t close the door on that.” With McDaniel being fired from Miami, Ewers’ chances of remaining Miami’s starting quarterback diminished; however, a new possibility has emerged.
Bold Prediction Links Miami Dolphins to Malik Willis
A recent article by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has bold predictions from league executives, scouts, and coaches. One of the predictions includes the Miami Dolphins. They predicted Packers free agent quarterback Malik Willis would sign with the Dolphins. Fowler wrote, “No regime will know Willis’ strengths better than Miami, which just hired a brain trust of general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley from Green Bay. The Packers valued Willis’ development and Miami could bear the fruits of that labor.”
Unlike Ewers, Willis has a history with the Dolphins general manager and head coach. Jon-Eric Sullivan was a part of the Packers front office when they traded a seventh-round pick in exchange for Willis. Since then, Willis has appeared in 11 games for Green Bay, while starting three when quarterback Jordan Love was out. He improved drastically from his time in Tennessee. As a member of the Titans in 2021, Willis started three games and posted a 13.3 QBR. Had he qualified, he would have been the quarterback with the lowest QBR in the NFL. With the Packers, he posted a QBR of 77.3 and 93.1 in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, both figures would have placed him as the top quarterback in the NFL.
Dolphins’ Chances of Landing Willis
Despite the limited appearances, Willis will be sought after. Coming into the league, Willis was viewed as a raw project with a high ceiling but a low floor. Those raw tools drew comparisons to Buffalo’s Josh Allen. While the Titans experienced his low floor, the Green Bay coaching staff utilized those tools to turn him into a solid quarterback.
There is risk involved in signing a player like Willis, as his experience is still very limited despite being in the NFL for four seasons. He’s only started six games in his career, but due to teams being needy for a quarterback, he is expected to command a high price. Miami may not be willing to match his high price as the team still needs to deal with their own quarterback.
The Dolphins still have Tagovailoa under contract and he has $54 million guaranteed in 2026, which makes him hard to move. Fortunately, due to familiarity, the Dolphins’ current front office and coaching staff will have a better idea if Willis is worth the risk.
Prediction Links Dolphins to Dual-Threat Quarterback