Despite the Miami Dolphins paying Malik Willis to be the presumed starter, he will still have to earn the position of QB1.
Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley have already begun to create the new culture in South Florida, which is about earning everything every step of the way.
Even with signing Malik Willis to a three-year, $67.5 million deal, Sullivan indicated that he will have to earn the starting job.
While it should be a given that every player must earn their keep for a position on the 53-man roster, Willis is expected to be the day-one starter. That can certainly change, and in a big way.
The Dolphins have been attached to both Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson and Miami's Carson Beck, both of whom will visit the team as part of a pre-draft visit. While it would make a bit more sense to potentially draft Beck in the third or fourth round, Simpson being taken in the second might also happen.
Either way, the Dolphins are injecting competition into every role, even the quarterback position.
Sullivan spoke with Mike Florio and Chris Simms about Willis' upside, but the Dolphins general manager also indicated he must earn the starting job.
"He's the right kind of guy. He's the right kind of teammate. So, uh, it was quite frankly a fairly easy decision. We didn't know if we'd be able to get him or not. Obviously, you're competing with other teams. Uh, it worked out. We're excited to have him. Um, Malik knows he's got to come in and compete. We're in a situation in Miami, nothing's gonna be given to anybody. I don't care what your salary is. I don't care what you ... Now, look, somebody's got to run out with the first team day one. Malik's gonna be that guy, right? Um, and I would be lying if I said otherwise. The expectations for Malik are high uh, from Haf and me and everybody else," Sullivan said.
One thing that has not been true throughout the short time that Sullivan and Hafley have been with the Dolphins organization is their unwavering admissions on injecting a competitive nature into this time. That does start with the quarterback position, who is usually the de facto leader of the team.
The Dolphins may very well draft Simpson or Beck, and still have Willis and Quinn Ewers on the team. Whoever sets themselves apart will win the day and the starting job.
A reset and rebuild has long been coming in Miami, but more so a culture change that finally put to rest the narrative that the Dolphins are a "soft" team. Many former players said this, and losing in cold-weather climates did help to reinforce that the team is a physical one.
That said, the best way to reinforce a competitive spirit is to inject competition at every position no matter what. If a player is not cutting it, even a veteran, they will lose their starting position.
It will be interesting to see how the quarterback room shakes out, especially if the Dolphins do draft a signal-caller. Willis is the clear favorite to win the job, but a starry-eyed rookie winning the QB1 position is also not that rare, and could happen.