How Malik Willis revived his career with the Packers: 'I'd put him up against anybody'

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GREEN BAY, Wis. — If you hear a faint beeping sound, that’s probably the noise of a Brinks truck preparing to unload at Malik Willis’ house. The Green Bay Packers backup quarterback is going to get paid in free agency this offseason, and deservedly so. If you claim to have seen this coming, you’re probably lying, unless of course you’ve been watching Willis work his magic for as long as Xavier McKinney has.

“I’ve been seeing him do that since high school,” the Packers’ All-Pro safety and Willis’ teammate at Roswell (Georgia) High School said. “I’m never surprised. It never catches me off guard.” There was buzz before the 2022 NFL Draft that Willis would go in the top 10. He fell to the third round and flamed out after two years in Tennessee. The Packers shipped a measly seventh-round pick to the Titans on the eve of last season for Willis, their new backup after underwhelming training camp performances by Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt.

Since Green Bay’s mundane maneuver, Willis has blossomed into one of the league’s best backups, if not the top one. Willis has looked like a starter almost every time he’s filled in for Jordan Love, reviving his career under the tutelage of head coach Matt LaFleur and his staff in a place where quarterbacks thrive. As a result, a quarterback-needy team will likely pay Willis to at least compete for their starting job in a couple of months.

“It’s been really cool watching that and I’m really happy for him,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “Every time we’ve needed him, he’s come through and done a nice job and given us a chance to win every game that he’s been in. We’ll see what the future holds for him, but I think he’s really helped himself out, for sure, with what he’s done the last two years here.”

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6930221/2025/12/31/malik-willis-packers-backup-quarterback/

I wish him well. He has done a great job for Green Bay.

[True Dough]

1. A much better job

than Clayton Tune is doing so far today!

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2. Watching this is pure agony.

But we all start somewhere.

Willis has a shoulder injury. Love has cleared the concussion protocol but they are resting him for the playoffs.