Miami Dolphins
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The Dolphins received praise for one of their offseason acquisitons
The Miami Dolphins’ offseason has been filled with difficult choices for new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley. It has now become clear that the pair entered with the mindset of tearing down what Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel had built, and building a new core focused on young players and future draft picks.
As a result, the Dolphins parted ways with players like Tyreek Hill, Tua Tagovailoa, Bradley Chubb, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jaylen Waddle. The team did make plenty of additions to its roster during free agency; however, only one of those has been for a contract worth over $3 million, and that was theaddition of top free agent quarterback Malik Willis.
After announcing the release of former Pro Bowl quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins agreed to terms with former Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis. Willis signed a three-year, $67 million contract with the Dolphins which includes $45 million in guaranteed money. Despite the team focusing on improving its salary cap situation, Sullivan and Hafley apparently liked what they saw from Willis in Green Bay, so much so that they signed him to this deal after Willis had only six career NFL starts.
Miami Dolphins’ Malik Willis Signing Deemed ‘Perfect’
While some have questioned giving $45 million guaranteed to an unproven quarterback like Willis, others have praised the move.Pro Football Focus’ Zoltán Buday wrote about his favorite and least favorite moves of the offseason, and he listed Willis’ signing as his favorite of the offseason by any team, calling it a “perfect signing.”
Buday said of the move, “On a limited number of snaps, he earned a 92.3 PFF overall grade during the 2025 season. Miami made him the 17th-highest paid quarterback and has three seasons to figure out if he is a long-term solution at the position,” Buday added, “The Dolphins signed the top free-agent quarterback on the market. Although Willis did not play much behind Jordan Love in Green Bay, the Liberty alumnus always took advantage of his opportunities when Love was not available.”
Additionally, Buday did not list any Dolphins move as his least favorite of the offseason as he said, “Considering the direction of the Dolphins’ franchise, the front office unsurprisingly did not make any big investments, outside of Willis, this offseason.”
Other Perspectives on Dolphins
On the other end of the spectrum, one person who did not agree with the Dolphins’ decision making this offseason was Sports Illustrated’s Gilberto Manzano, who gave the Dolphins an “F” grade for their work in free agency, as he disagreed with the Malik Willis signing.
Manzano wrote:
“Clearly, the Dolphins are in rebuild mode and have their eyes on 2027. The team needed a fresh start, and there was no need to add Willis, who now has to play for a team that said goodbye to wide receivers Waddle and Tyreek Hill this offseason. It would have been better if this team had fully committed to the rebuild and taken its lumps with a veteran quarterback who would have commanded a lot less money than Willis.”