Malik Willis made his regular season debut for the Green Bay Packers earlier than expected on Friday night. He entered the game against the Philadelphia Eagles in the final seconds after starting quarterback Jordan Love suffered a sprained MCL.
Love is expected to be out for 3-6 weeks. Willis will be the starter for the Packers’ Week 2 game against the Indianapolis Colts.
However, the team has also reportedly reached out to veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who was Willis’ teammate with the Tennessee Titans. Willis was unable to secure a win for the Packers against the Eagles, who won with a final score of 34-29.
Willis was traded to the Packers from the Titans on August 26 in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He became expendable in Tennessee after the Titans named former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph as the primary backup to Will Levis.
In the 2023 preseason, Willis completed 20 of his 27 pass attempts for 205 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed 11 times for 101 yards.
Willis served as the backup to Levis for the majority of the 2023 season. He played in three games, and his only pass attempts came in Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens.
In that game, he completed four of five passes for 74 yards and rushed three times for 17 yards. He was also sacked four times.
Willis made three starts as a rookie in 2022, but the Titans only won one of those games. He finished the season with 50.8% completion percentage, zero touchdowns, three interceptions, and was sacked 10 times. He did find success as a runner, though, rushing for 123 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries.
Willis was drafted by the Titans in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. His arrival in Tennessee was not met with enthusiasm from then-starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who did not seem interested in mentoring Willis.
Willis transferred from Auburn to Liberty for his final two seasons of college football. During his time with the Flames, he threw for 47 touchdowns and 18 interceptions on 62.4% completion percentage. He also added 1,822 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns on 5.4 yards per carry.
There were mixed opinions about Willis’ potential to succeed in the NFL leading up to the 2022 draft. While his athleticism was undeniable, some questioned whether he would be able to consistently complete passes against NFL defenses.
So far, those concerns have proven to be valid. However, he now finds himself in a good situation with the Packers, where he’ll play for head coach Matt LaFleur and have the opportunity to work with a talented offense.