The Miami Dolphins officially have a new general manager And head coach for the first time in over a decade. Now, with the new era about to begin, the duo must find a way to improve a position that has plagued the Dolphins since the day GOAT Dan Marino retired.
Sure, Tua Tagovailoa showed flashes, but his day as the Dolphins’ starting quarterback appears to be over, with reports that the team was ready to move on and find someone else to lead the new era of Miami football.
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According to ESPN’s NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler, this player could be someone that GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and new Miami HC Jeff Hafley know from their final years in Green Bay.
A player who happens to be a free agent this season.
In a recent ESPN article outlining some of the most likely trades and signings of the offseasonFowler suggests Sullivan and Hafley could bring in a quarterback who they witnessed the takeover when Jordan Love went down. And to be completely honest, he played very good football.
So much so that it won’t just be the Dolphins vying for his services. As Fowler writes, if Daniel Jones returns to Indianapolis, there’s a very good chance Willis will be the best quarterback on the market. (He probably still is even if Jones hits the open market, but that’s a conversation for another day)
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The Cleveland Browns are another team that league executives believe could be interested in Willis.
“I just don’t think (the Browns) are going into the season with Shedeur (Sanders) as their first option,” one NFC staffer said. “And getting the right quarterback in the draft is not a guarantee depending on where they pick.”
Cleveland has two first-round picks, but with Oregon’s Dante Moore returning to school and other key factors, Willis might be their best bet to add legitimate competition to a room in which Shedeur Sanders and Dillion Gabriel are currently battling for the QB1 spot.
But as Fowler says, Miami will have a better pace on Willis and his potential than any other team.
“No regime will know Willis’ strengths better than Miami, which just hired a mastermind group that included general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley from Green Bay. The Packers have appreciated Willis’ development and Miami could bear the fruits of that work.”
I know this gives some of us older guys a bit of “déjà vu” because it feels eerily similar to the days of Joe Philbin and everyone who wanted Matt Flynn, because we were QB starved and unconditionally thought things could be different.
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Narrator: It wasn’t.
But Willis has legitimate tools (I’ll do an analysis in the coming weeks) and could be the perfect QB to help usher in this new era of Dolphins football, while also allowing Sullivan and Hafley to find futures in the 2027 or 2028 draft class.
Last season in Green Bay, Willis completed 85.7% of his passes for 422 yards and 3 touchdowns in four appearances (1 start). In total, the former third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft (86th overall) started six games, finishing with a 3-3 record.
The cap situation is bleak and the Dolphins need to find a suitor for Tua. But if Brandon Shore and Sullivan can find a way to make this work, I think Miami fans would be thrilled to have a player like Malik Willis behind center.
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Then again, this all seems too good to be true.
What do you think of the Miami Dolphins signing free agent quarterback Malik Willis this offseason? Do you think he would be the perfect fit for this next era of Dolphins football? How does it feel to say goodbye to Tua Tagovailoa after what seemed like a promising start to the McDaniel era? Are you happy with Miami’s head coach/general manager duo? Let us know in the comments section below!
