Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis continues to shine with his leadership and command of the team.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis gave the NFL world a glimpse of his leadership style way back in rookie minicamp, as he was one of the only veterans who arrived to greet the new draftees.
That same level of leadership continues to show the growth that Willis is having as the starter for this Dolphins team.
During training cap, Willis spoke to the offeense about expectations, which showed another level of his command and serious nature of being the de facto leader of this Miami organization. When Willis was asked about the conversation, he offered a humble take on the occurance.
" I just wanted to talk to the offense and just have a man-to-man conversation," Willis said. "Like we got to understand this is a business and we got to take what we do personal. We got to take pride in it, and we got to do it to the best of our ability, regardless if we're calling plays to beat the defense or not.
It is important for veteran players to show their leadership not only to their fellow veterans but to the rookies and younger players in the building. Willis may have only just joined the Dolphins, but so has a good portion of the roster.
There are roster mainstays like running back De'Von Achane and center Aaron Brewer, but the team needs to know they can trust their quarterback, and these types of conversations is a way to showcase that trust.
"We're not calling plays to beat the defense. We're calling plays that we want to use throughout the year, and we're trying to get better at those plays ... That's what it's about, building confidence in those things. So when we get in those moments and we need them, we just revert to our training," Willis added.
The sheer level of Willis' growth is well-known to Brewer, as the pair were both on the Tennessee Titans before heading to South Florida.
Brewer also spoke about how Willis has grown from their past and how he is leading the Miami locker room now.
"I see him just building confidence over him and the receivers growing a relationship, him growing a relationship with the offensive line, just being comfortable in the pocket and also just controlling the offense as a whole," Brewer said.
Brewer was also asked what it meant to see the Dolphins quarterback talk to the offense and how the conversation showed a deeper level of care.
"How much he cared. You know what I'm saying? We want to be perfect, and so we were just talking on just the little things, you know? And so him just talking to the team, that just showed how much he cares about the game, how much he cares about the team, how much he cares about us," Brewer said.
Willis has a tall task ahead of him, as he will be under center and represent more than just a look towards the future. The Dolphins have struggled with consistency in the quarterback department since Dan Marino retired in 1999.
While the organization has had limited success with quarterbacks like Chad Pennington, Chad Henne, and Tua Tagovailoa, the team has not won a playoff game since the year 2000.
Willis was given a three-year, $67.5million contract to be the passer the team has longed for. The caveat to that is that he only has six starts to his name since arriving in the league in 2022.
There is a lot of pressure for the moment, but Willis was asked about his journey thus far in minicamp, and stated confidently that he was not "ready then," but he is "ready now."
That readiness has looked good thus far through training camp, as the Dolphins' signal-caller has made leaps and bounds in how he has handled the leadership nature of the starting quarterback position.
Time will tell if that all comes together when Miami takes the field in Week 1.
