Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk mentioned Saturday night that one theory regarding Packers impending free agent QB Malik Willis is that he will ultimately agree to a two- or three-year deal in the range of $20 million to $25 million per year.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adds that a team offering Willis $30-plus million per year, which had been speculated in recent weeks, “doesn’t appear realistic.”
Instead, Fowler says many front offices believe Justin Fields and his two-year, $40 million contract is a more realistic comp for Willis this offseason.
Fowler expects at least two and possibly several teams to be involved on Willis with the Dolphins “definitely in” and the Cardinals currently “combing the market.” Fowler doesn’t see the Browns being a realistic option for Willis, however.
Willis has limited playing experience with just six starts under his belt, but he put together some terrific games for the Packers the past few years.
“The issue will be that you simply can’t run your whole offense with him,” one prominent offensive coach tells Fowler of Willis. “He’s not ready to handle that. So, whether he can sustain a full season will be a question. But he’s got a lot of ability and terrific character.”
Willis is one of the top quarterback free agents and the indications for about a week now have been that he will end up commanding a better salary than most may expect.
Plenty of teams need help at the position this year and the demand outweighs the supply of passers, though it feels more acute this year. The Cardinals, Browns and Dolphins have been linked to Willis since the end of the season.
Willis, 26, started for two years at Liberty after transferring over from Auburn. He led them to a 17-6 record in his two seasons. The Titans selected him with the No. 86 overall pick in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Tennessee traded Willis to the Packers coming out of the preseason for a seventh-round pick.
He just finished out the final year of a four-year, $5.16 million rookie contract that included a $932,800 signing bonus and is set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career this coming offseason.
In 2025, Willis appeared in four games for the Packers and completed 85.7 percent of his passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns. Willis also rushed 22 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
We have him included in our Top 100 – 2026 NFL Free Agents.
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