Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins
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(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
When Malik Willis signed with the Miami Dolphins, the former Green Bay Packers signal-caller likely saw this as an opportunity to prove he’s an NFL starting QB. Although the Dolphins cut ties with Tyreek Hill, Miami still had Jaylen Waddle.
However, that changed in March, when the Dolphins traded Waddle for a haul of draft picks as they stripped the roster down and rebuilt the team following the departures of Hill, Waddle, and former starting QB Tua Tagovailoa.
As Willis now finds himself in a rebuild, the question is whether the Dolphins’ front office sees him as a long-term solution or as a stopgap. For CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco, he believes Willis won’t be long for South Florida.
“What I think is going to happen is [Willis is] going to come in and help establish a culture,”Prisco said on the March 19 edition of “Golic & Golic.” “They’re not going to be good. He doesn’t have a lot around him.
“Then next year they’re going to draft a quarterback, and six or seven games into the season they’re going to say, ‘Thanks for your time, Malik Willis, we’re going to go with the guy we drafted in the first round.‘ So it’s not a great situation for him.“
Malik Willis Should’ve Looked at Other Options
Moreover, Prisco stated that Willis should have considered all his options rather than reuniting with Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley in Miami.
“I was a little surprised by the signing. Look, I knowthey’re familiar withhim. I know the rationale behind it is probablybring a guy in, let’s help him set the culture for what we want to be here because he’s a great kid.
“He works at it. He’s one of those guys. But the reality is, if you’re tearing the thing down, tear it down and play with Quinn Ewers. I never quite grasped the idea of bringing in another quarterback to be the guy and paying him that kind of money, at least for only two years…
“He probably should have picked, you know, Arizona would have been better, and I think they were after him. But the reality is this is the way the Dolphins want to operate, and they trade away Jaylen Waddle. They got a great, by the way, they got great return for Waddle. I understand it, but it’s not really a good situation when you pay Malik Willis.”
Should the Dolphins Draft a QB This Year?
While Prisco sees the Dolphins selecting a QB next offseason, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky believes the Dolphins should do their homework on former Alabama Crimson Tide QB Ty Simpson for this year’s draft.
“I think they can get a draft wide receiver that they can build around earlier in the draft,“Orlovsky said on the March 17 edition of “NFL Live. ““But it does make me think, because there are two teams that are great places for the Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. Arizona would be one, and Miami would be another.
“I know they just paid Malik Willis. I know that. But given the timeline, and given just the style of the quarterback with the style of offense that would be in Miami, at least under this regime, it makes me think, even though they signed Malik Willis, they should do their homework and entertain drafting Ty Simpson in Miami.”