Malik Willis Agrees to Join Dolphins After Packers Free-Agency Exit

2026-03-09 - 17:05

Quarterback Malik Willis agreed Monday to join the Miami Dolphins, according to ESPN, giving Miami a new option at the position after the club moved on from Tua Tagovailoa and ended Willis’ two-season run with Green Bay. Multiple reports said the deal is for three years and worth up to $67.5 million, with $45 million guaranteed. The move gives Willis his clearest path yet to a full-time starting job and gives Miami a new quarterback as the NFL free-agency market opens. Willis, a 2022 third-round pick by Tennessee, was traded to Green Bay just before the 2024 season for a seventh-round pick. He started three games for the Packers across the last two seasons, including two wins early in 2024, and entered Monday as one of the most discussed quarterbacks in this year’s market. Packers.com listed him among Green Bay’s unrestricted free agents when the 2026 league year opened. The Dolphins’ interest was not hard to trace. New Miami head coach Jeff Hafley worked with Willis in Green Bay and spoke warmly about him at the NFL combine last month. “Obviously him and I have a really good relationship,” Hafley said. He added that Willis “always did a really good job and gave us everything that he had.” The market around Willis had been building for days. ESPN wrote last week that Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst had acknowledged it would be “impossible” to keep him. NFL.com ranked Willis first on its list of the top 101 free agents, with Gregg Rosenthal writing, “I see him as the most dynamic quarterback in football as a runner.” For Miami, the signing is both a roster reset and a bet that Willis’ limited sample in Green Bay can hold up over a full season.