The Green Bay Packers plan on having Jordan Love as their starting quarterback for a very long time. If he follows the same pattern as his predecessors, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, he will remain the starter for the next 13 seasons (for 15 seasons total as the starting quarterback) and then be traded to the New York Jets.
But while the Packers have their franchise quarterback locked up, they learned the hard way just how important having a good backup is. Indeed, Brian Gutekunst acquiring Malik Willis from the Tennessee Titans in a trade right before the start of the 2024 NFL season may have saved Green Bay’s year.
Malik Willis Led the Green Bay Packers to Two Wins Early in 2024
A former third round pick by the Titans in 2022, Willis did not have much success with Tennessee in three seasons with the team. In fact, he did not even throw a single touchdown pass despite appearing in 11 games (three starts) for them during that time.
As the Titans saw no future with Willis, they happily sent him to the Packers for a seventh round pick. He was named the backup quarterback behind Love as Green Bay released both Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt due to their horrid displays in the preseason. Clifford was re-signed to the practice squad, but Pratt was picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Willis was thrust into action shortly after signing with the Packers. When Love sprained his MCL at the end of Green Bay’s Week One loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, he was unable to play for two weeks. That meant that Willis, who had been on the team for less than a month, was tasked with starting the next two games.
And the Packers won both. Had they not, they would have missed the NFL Playoffs instead of sneaking in as the seventh seed with an 11-6 record.
NFL Analyst Names Green Bay Packers QB Malik Willis as the League’s Seventh-Best Backup
Last season, Willis completed 74.1% of his passes for 550 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 124.8 passer rating. Undoubtedly, he will have a strong market when his rookie contract runs out at the end of this upcoming season, and may even get a chance to start somewhere.
For now, though, CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin believes Willis is the seventh-best backup quarterback in the NFL:
“Willis has a very small sample size as a fill-in, but relocating from the Titans’ crumbling offense to Matt LaFleur’s Green Bay Packers outfit quickly proved his gifts are transferable to the NFL. A former Liberty standout, he was ultra-efficient both using his legs and dealing the rock in place of an injured Jordan Love in 2024. Green Bay has to feel pretty good about his upside after how seamlessly he entered the lineup last time around.”
Kenny Pickett/Joe Flacco, Tanner McKee, Gardner Minshew, Daniel Jones, Kirk Cousins, and Jimmy Garoppolo were all ranked ahead of him.
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