Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins
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(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
The Miami Dolphins need help at wideout after cutting ties with Tyreek Hill and trading away Jaylen Waddle. As a result, there are serious concerns over who new QB Malik Willis will be throwing the football to for the 2026 NFL season.
Although the Dolphins can draft a wideout, Miami could decide to go the free-agent route to bring in veteran players at a low cost to help young talent and boost performance.
When it comes to a potential name that the Dolphins could pursue, FanSided’s Zachary Rotman sees veteran wideout Deebo Samuel, who spent last season with the Washington Commanders, as an option for Miami to help improve their wideout room for next season.
“The Miami Dolphins released Tyreek Hill and traded Jaylen Waddle, giving them easily the worst wide receiver room in the NFL as of this writing, with Jalen Tolbert and Malik Washington as their best wideouts,”Rotman wrote in his article published on March 22. “They’ll probably draft at least one receiver, but they could really use a veteran that their new starting quarterback, Malik Willis, can trust. Deebo Samuel can be that guy.
“Samuel is obviously not the player he once was, but he is coming off a decent season with the Commanders. He tied his career-high with 16 games played, recording 72 receptions, 727 yardsand five touchdowns in those contests. His 10.1 yards per reception were a career low, but he can catch passes from the slot and take pressure off Willis and the Dolphins’ other young receivers.
“I get that the Dolphins are rebuilding, but they’d be giving Willis no shot to succeed as constructed. At the very least, Samuel gives them a playable veteran who can catch passes. They don’t have that right now.”
Should Malik Willis Feel Regret After Signing With the Dolphins?
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 Considered All His 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,“ Prisco added. “Look, I know they’re familiar with him. 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.”