Malik Willis should make north of $30M per year. Here's why.
Mike McCarthy and the Pittsburgh Steelers must enter the bidding, too. We take a closer look at this year's top prize in free agency.
Don’t miss this week’s conversation on the quarterback market with Mike Tanier:
Nobody cared about Malik Willis in August 2023. That quickly, he was written off by his employer. The Tennessee Titans saw him throw the ball 61 times as a rookie and decided enough was enough in selecting Kentucky’s Will Levis with the 33rd overall pick.
This sultry summer day, he finished up a joint practice at the Minnesota Vikings’ pristine Eagen, Minn., campus and wasn’t approached by anyone. As the practice fields started to empty, he walked toward the sideline solo.
Our chat was brief. But when I asked what’s different in Year 2 — why he is still hopeful — Willis’ confidence was striking.
“I know the plays,” Willis said then. “That’s the biggest difference — literally. They think, ‘He’s trash.’ No, I just needed to learn the offense.”
There was no hesitation in his voice. Willis fully expected to excel in the NFL… at some point.
That season, he only attempted five passes. The next, he was traded to the Green Bay Packers and the sensation probably felt something like strapping on an astronaut’s suit and traveling to a new planet. Off two weeks of practice, Willis competently steered the Packers to a pair of victories over Indianapolis and Tennessee. The narrative of his career started to change. Matt LaFleur helped mold his game.
And in 2025, he showed enough in 1 1/2 games to warrant a life-changing contract.
Both were losses. But against Chicago and Baltimore, Willis went 30 of 35 (85.7 percent) for 422 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions as a passer, while also dizzying defenders for 123 rushing yards and two scores. The sample size was minuscule compared to free agent quarterbacks past. Yet, tantalizing. His timing is legendary. A fourth of the league is quarterback-hunting on a barren prairie.
Very rarely do any vets make it to free agency, of course. But this year’s draft is also devoid of starting-caliber talents beyond Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. Even the griftiest of grifters in the industry have yet to hitch their wagon to the likes of Carson Beck.
All of which drives up the price of that quarterback that only cost Green Bay the 239th overall pick. Reports suggest Willis could net a contract north of $30 million per year. The sight of last year’s Super Bowl-winning quarterback — another player left for dead — has further opened up the minds of general managers to a new calculus. Many of these quarterback-needy clubs would love to pay a winning QB in the $30M-$35M range.
Odds are, Willis is the only one who gets a deal in that range.
Who’s willing to pay the most? Which fit is best?
With the right team, perhaps Malik Willis enjoys his own fairy-tale ending.