It's only a matter of time before pending free agent Malik Willis sheds the backup label and becomes a starting quarterback. That won't be happening with the Green Bay Packers, considering their near-quarter-billion-dollar investment in Jordan Love, though there will be plenty of other suitors.
Teams around the NFL are starving for competency under center, let alone a potential difference-maker. Willis figures to be among the biggest beneficiaries of the desperation. He's set to earn a massive payday and the opportunity to lead his own huddle, but the question is, who will hand him the keys?
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler shared several "bold predictions from league executives, coaches and scouts." However, one of Willis' forecasted destinations shouldn't come as much of a surprise: the Miami Dolphins.
NFL execs and staffers predict Malik Willis' to follow ex-Packers to Dolphins
As Packers fans know, Willis (among other players) suddenly has strong ties to Miami. The Dolphins' new general manager and head coach duo, Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley, are coming from Green Bay. Knowing this, Fowler's intel paints a picture of the three of them reuniting in South Beach, and it's easy to see why.
"No regime will know Willis' strengths better than [the Miami Dolphins], which just hired a brain trust of GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley from Green Bay," Fowler wrote. "The Packers valued Willis' development and Miami could bear the fruits of that labor."
As Green Bay's ex-vice president of player personnel, Sullivan had a close hand in their acquisition of Willis. The partnership fared better than anyone could've imagined. So, it's not shocking to hear that the latter is seemingly firmly on the Dolphins' radar.
The Dolphins appear to be building Packers South in the AFC, and if that's the case, why not lean into the bit? Sullivan and Hafley can complete the trifecta and bring Green Bay to Miami by successfully recruiting Willis to join them.
Willis showcased tremendous upside when filling in for Love over the past two seasons with the Packers. Nevertheless, Fowler and anonymous personnel members highlighted the connection-driven nature of football. Sullivan and Hafley aren't the first tandem that may try to poach pieces from their former employer, and they won't be the last.
For whatever it's worth, the Cleveland Browns were also mentioned as a possible landing spot for Willis.