Malik Willis #2 of the Green Bay Packers is a candidate for the Cleveland Browns.
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Malik Willis #2 of the Green Bay Packers is a candidate for the Cleveland Browns.
It’s not news to say that, sitting here on the first day of March, well ahead of the 2026 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns are looking at a very murky quarterback picture. Fact is, you could cut-and-paste that notion when looking at the Browns’ situation in March in just about any year in the past, oh, three decades or so. The problem this season, though, is that the Browns might have an interest in making a free-agent addition–but the only real free agent on the market is Malik Willis.
And Willis comes with plenty of problems, starting with the fact that he has a very limited sample size as a starting quarterback, but is likely to paid an outsize contract anyway–Spotrac projects him netting a two-year, $71 million deal.
That’s because other teams are also desperate for free-agent additions, especially Miami. And because of that combination of factors–other bidders, high price, limited experience–ESPN is suggesting the Browns are not going to wind up with Willis on board.
‘Not Likely’ That Malik Willis Goes to Browns
Writing on Sunday in the wake of the NFL combine in Indianapolis, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler all but ruled the Browns out of the Willis “sweepstakes,” such as it is.
He noted that Spotrac’s number might be high, but that the Browns are still not likely a go: “Willis hitting the $30 million threshold as a player with six career starts would surprise some of the teams at the combine. Expect at least two and possibly several teams to be involved on Willis. ‘Miami is definitely in,’ a source said. Arizona is combing the market, too, but it doesn’t seem likely that Willis will end up in Cleveland.”
The Browns, of course, have a limited quarterback room as things stand, with Shedeur Sanders as the incumbent starter and Deshaun Watson, having rehabbed from two Achilles tendon surgeries, possibly in the mix, too. Former starter Dillon Gabriel is still listed as the team’s QB2.
Deshaun Watson Agent a Potential Problem
One aspect of Malik Willis going to the Browns that Fowler did not mention, but that could be key in Willis staying away from Cleveland is that Willis shares an agent with Watson, David Mulugheta of Athletes First. With Watson essentially having just one more chance to resurrect his NFL career, it’s possible Mulugheta will not steer his top free agent to a place where he would torpedo the chances of Watson making a comeback.
Cleveland.com Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot, though, has been making that point repeatedly. Cabot said last week that the Browns will get a sense of the market on Willis before free agency rolls around in 10 days. But the Mulugheta angle could be an important one.
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/market-value/\_/id/76962/malik-willis