We've reached the worst part of the calendar for die-hard NFL fans — the summer break. For the next few weeks until late July, the players are off work and free to enjoy the fruits of their labor (rightfully so). This makes it the perfect time to dust off an old story about the Miami Dolphins' new franchise quarterback, Malik Willis, a tale that could've easily slipped Miami fans' radar as it happened when he was still playing for the Packers.
In Week 2 of 2024, Green Bay was forced to roll with Willis in lieu of Jordan Love, as Love had suffered an injury in their Week 1 loss to the Eagles. Willis did enough against the Indianapolis Colts to eke out a 16–10 victory, but something else was on head coach Matt LaFleur's mind after the game. At one point, facing a 3rd and 10, Willis received the snap and took off running before even attempting to look down the field for one of his receivers.
LaFleur sought clarification from his signal-caller, as he had called a pass play on the third down in question. That's when Willis told him the gross details of the whole ordeal. Then-Packers center Josh Myers lost his lunch onto the football, just before snapping it to Willis. Willis decided the most prudent approach was to try to pick up the first down with his legs, as he couldn't get a grip on the ball.
While it's surely a memory Willis would like to forget, there are a few takeaways from his reaction to the unenviable position he found himself in that should bring a lot of hope to Miami.
Malik Willis has proven to be an improviser at the quarterback position, something the Dolphins desperately need
One of the many admitted issues fans had with former QB Tua Tagovailoa is that for a play to work, everything needed to be perfect. We all know that in the NFL, things are rarely perfect. Whether it's a blown blocking assignment, a wrong route by a receiver, half-digested lunch being expelled on the ball — something can easily, and often does, go wrong.
The upper echelon of quarterbacks in the league, like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen (speaking of vomit...), Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow, have an uncanny ability to make something out of nothing. It's become a necessity at the quarterback position in modern times if a team wants to have a fighting chance. Defensive coaches frequently lament having to defend the play, and then the play within the play, when one of those QBs keeps a play going for five or six seconds.
That was virtually unheard of in Miami over the last several years. Always-limited athleticism and waning strengths that used to cover up that deficiency made continuing with Tagovailoa untenable. The team opted for the nuclear option and took an NFL-record $99 million cap hit in sending him away. By replacing him with Malik Willis, though, they made it unmistakably clear that they understood the assignment.
The days of a statuesque quarterback who panics under adverse circumstances and lacks functional mobility are in the rearview mirror. Malik Willis has a long way to go before he's in the conversation of the league's best. Forgive Dolphins fans for being excited anyway. His skill set is perhaps the most unique of any passer in the franchise's history.
There's a second part to the story that matters. Football players are people. They have feelings — they can truly love or simply tolerate any teammate — and many believe that contributes to performance. The kind of thing that earns that admiration and respect is how Willis approached the story after it hit the presses.
Willis learned that Myers was receiving a lot of flak for his gaffe. The QB made sure to tell the media that Myers did a great job executing his assignment regardless and praised him for chugging on in a difficult situation. What's more, he apologized to Myers for letting it get out, as he never expected it to be taken as faulting his offensive lineman for the busted play.
That's leadership. Contrast that to Tua Tagovailoa throwing his teammates under the bus for supposedly missing players-only meetings after a loss in which he tossed three interceptions, and the difference is night and day. Malik Willis may not succeed in Miami. If he fails, though, it won't be because of a lack of athleticism or a prickly leadership style.
For that reason alone, he's worth the gamble in 2026.
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