Backup quarterback Malik Willis has sparked the Green Bay Packers with dynamic play and crucial leadership.
Malik Willis is not the quarterback of the future for the Green Bay Packers. You couldn't tell that by the way he's been playing over the past two weeks in relief of Jordan Love, but he's, unfortunately, not in Green Bay's long-term plans.
The long-term quarterback is Love, of course. He was given a four-year, $220 million contract before the 2024 season, and he's locked in through 2028. Meanwhile, Willis is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Normally, a player who was traded for late-round hitting free agency wouldn't be big news, but kudos to Willis. He took advantage of the coaching and development he got in Green Bay after the Packers traded that aforementioned seventh-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for him in August of 2024.
He's now proven that he's without a doubt starting quarterback material in the NFL. Is he elite? Does he have the upside of Love? Probably not.
The former third-round pick out of Liberty is a tremendous athlete, though, and he's gotten better as a passer during his time in Green Bay.
He can do this:
And he can also do this:
That's a very skillset package for a quarterback, and Willis is undoubtedly going to get paid big-time money to be a starter somewhere else in 2025.
In the meantime, though, Willis is also bringing a dash of leadership to this Packers team that is reeling after three-straight losses.
Yes, the Packers are technically a playoff team, but there's a real possibility they head into the playoffs on a four-game losing skid. With the way they've been unable to play a complete game ever since Micah Parsons went down with a torn ACL, there's no guarantee they can beat the 8-8 Minnesota Vikings to end the season.
Still, it's worth noting that Willis is not just bringing a calming presence to the offense on the field.
He's also saying the things you need to hear in a time like this.
"I think that we just got to keep playing ball, and taking it one week at a time," Willis said after the Week 17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN. "Hopefully, we can get out with a 'W' next week, after looking at this tape and understanding what went wrong, and we can worry about all that stuff after the season."
That's the perfect message for this team, and it's the only thing that will help get them back on track.
They can't worry about last week. Derrick Henry running for 200-plus yards and four touchdowns on them is, thankfully, in the past. They can't worry about the loss of Parsons a few weeks ago against the Denver Broncos, and they can't bring back players like Tucker Kraft, Devonte Wyatt or Elgton Jenkins.
They also can't look too far ahead to the playoffs, though, because there's still football to play in the here and now.
Yes, the Week 18 game against the Vikings is meaningless in a sense, but it's still an opportunity for this team to get off the losing skid and perhaps change the vibes, even just a little bit, heading into the playoffs.
That's hugely important, so the Packers can't just phone it in and call these last four weeks of the season a lost cause. Every snap matters.
Willis seems to understand that. Does everyone else around him feel the same way? It sort of feels like they don't, but much in the same way a team takes on the personality of its head coach, a team also takes its cues from the quarterback.
Right now, until Love gets back on the field, that's Willis. Heck, he can still be a leader for this team even if he's sitting in the QB2 chair and holding a clipboard.
That's invaluable, and it's another reason why he's going to be a hot quarterback target in free agency.
He's a Packer for now, though, and he's a Packer through and through.