The Miami Dolphins paid Tua Tagovailoa a ton of money not to be their starting quarterback this offseason, and therefore had to make every dollar count in free agency. They landed on Malik Willis as their new QB1, and he was easily the most coveted field general on the open market.
Thanks to the Dolphins' new head coach-GM combo of Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan having familiarity with Willis from their time in Green Bay together, they knew the caliber of player and person they were investing in. Willis' three-year contract is structured in such a way as to give him at least a two-season runway to prove himself.
That's more than fair given the dire state of the team right now, which has very little chance of winning more than a couple of games this season.
But even as soon as Week 3, Miami's move to bring Willis aboard as a bridge QB looks increasingly ingenious by the day.
Amid NFL's wildly unpredictable QB play, Malik gives the Miami Dolphins' youth movement a stable presence
Check out this fact from ESPN insider Adam Schefter that does indeed deserve the embedded standalone treatment to underscore the Dolphins' good fortune with Malik Willis in the fold:
By the end of Week 3, six NFL teams will have started multiple QBs: the Commanders, Seahawks, Giants, Bears, Falcons and Vikings. That’s the most through three weeks since 2019. https://t.co/NcfEZpsdAH
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 27, 2026
So yeah. Almost a quarter of the league is already on at least their backup QB. Shoot, the Bears had to turn to 38-year-old third-stringer Case Keenum on Monday Night Football, and he balled out against the Eagles' vaunted defense in a 27-7 blowout. Who would've thought? Not me!
But taking the reins of Ben Johnson's high-octane offense is one thing. Could Keenum have kept his head above water with the way things are in Miami? I have my doubts.
Willis knows the score. He understands that the Dolphins deliberately traded away their most lethal receiver, Jaylen Waddle, so they could get an extra first-round pick, which they wisely used on cornerback Chris Johnson to give them a young cornerstone on their defense.
It takes a special kind of QB to not be deterred by such a setback, or the utter flaying of his roster, when the opportunity of a lifetime to be an NFL starter comes knocking.
Just think about the teams' backups that Schefter named. Seattle's Drew Lock wouldn't have wanted to come to the Dolphins for his next shot to start. Lock just played great for the Seahawks and led them to two wins in Sam Darnold's absence.
Wild that Marcus Mariota stepped in for Jayden Daniels, threw three TDs on Seattle's Super Bowl-winning defense, and led the Commanders to their first victory of the new season. But can Mariota keep it up? He failed as a full-time starter and got multiple cracks at those types of gigs.
Imagine also how much worse off Miami could be with, say, Cooper Rush, Jameis Winston, or Carson Wentz under center. Win-loss-wise, probably not much.
The point I'm trying to make is, Malik Willis is not just physically gifted, with a huge arm and some of the best QB running ability in the entire league. He's mentally built different to withstand the Dolphins' grueling rebuild.
Hafley and Sullivan knew Willis was made of the right stuff. And their calculated gamble is earning the respect of retired stud left tackle Terron Armstead and many others in the football world:
"I really like Malik Willis. He’s improving weekly, competes his a** off, fast as hell, big arm and plays without fear. Has a lot of room for growth as an all-around QB but the talent is there and this year of reps will give the front office great insight."
Why Willis is one of the greatest bridge QB experiments in recent NFL history
If he's good enough for the rest of this season, Malik Willis could be attractive trade bait for the Dolphins to dangle in the hopes of scoring another high draft pick. If he's not, plenty of built-in excuses exist, and it's not awkward to draft a new face of the franchise while having Willis continue as the bridge guy.
With a wildly upgraded 2027 team, I like Willis' chances to succeed, even if it's only as an audition for other teams. The Dolphins will have way more cap space to work with. They could get another premier rookie at a different position if they roll with Willis for the foreseeable future, too.
Judging from the Hafley-Sullivan history with the Packers, they would probably love Willis to play out the string as long as possible. They could put his successor in a Jordan Love-type sit-and-wait scenario.
But also, the depth of the 2027 quarterback draft class is expected to be exceptional. Just because the Dolphins go in different directions in the first couple of rounds doesn't mean they can't find a diamond in the rough in the third round (where Willis was drafted), or even sometime on Day 3.
Willis' passer rating is 74.1 through three starts. Not great. But he also doesn't have many viable weapons to help him and has now lost De'Von Achane for the season.
It's going to be an absolute grind the rest of the way. The Dolphins have bet big that Willis is capable of handling all that comes with it. And as far as I can see, however Willis fares, Miami's brass is in the ultimate win-win scenario because of how they've set up their whole bridge QB operation.
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