The Green Bay Packers might not have many cut candidates to consider during the 2025 NFL offseason, but could backup quarterback Malik Willis potentially make the list if the Packers need to carve out some additional cap space?
Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Staff recently identified the three “most likely” cap casualties on the Packers’ roster for the upcoming offseason, putting two-time All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander squarely at No. 1 amid speculation about his future.
Willis, however, found his way into the No. 2 slot on the list, largely because the team would save money against the salary cap if it cut ties with the young quarterback.
“Willis isn’t likely to become a full-time starter in his career, but he put up good numbers when called into action in 2024,” BR’s staff wrote on January 20. “That being said, he’s one of the few players who doesn’t have a big role that could create more than $1 million in cap space. The entirety of his $1.4 million cap hit would come off the books if he were released.”
The Packers acquired Willis for a 2025 seventh-round pick in a preseason trade with the Tennessee Titans and got good quarterback play out of him when starter Jordan Love suffered an injury toward the end of Week 1’s loss. He made two starts and played in seven games, completing 40-of-54 passes (75%) for 550 yards and three touchdowns.
Even still, the Packers must weigh Willis’ long-term future as they enter the final year of his rookie contract in 2025, especially with Love signed through the next four seasons.
Malik Willis Remains Viable Backup QB With Upside
Technically, the Packers could make a clean break from Willis in the interest of savings during the 2025 offseason, but the potential gains of cutting him feel meager when held against what he brings to the table — which is a capable backup with reasonable upside.
Willis did not stick the landing in his first NFL stop after the Titans drafted him in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft to potentially succeed then-starter Ryan Tannehill. In three starts as a rookie, though, he completed just 25 of his 49 passes (51%) for 234 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions and struggled with reading defenses.
By 2023, the Titans had largely pushed Willis’ development to the back burner in favor of second-round rookie Will Levis — who took over the starting job late in the season. That put Willis in a tricky spot heading into 2024’s training camp in which he might have ended up on the waiver wire had the Packers called with a trade offer for him.
Fortunately for Willis, the Packers fit him nicely. He has a creative offensive play-caller in Matt LaFleur who has experience tailoring his offense to the various skill sets of his players and looked sharper than ever in his limited playing time in 2024. He also showed he can give the Packers a chance if he ever has to replace Love again.
Whether the Packers will cut Willis feels like the wrong question. The better one might be: could they receive outside trade interest in Willis from QB-hungry teams in 2025?
Would Malik Willis Trade Make More Sense for Packers?
Willis is still somewhat of a project quarterback for the Packers, but there is no denying that he showed capabilities and growth in his limited reps during the 2024 season.
Did Willis show enough to garner trade interest from teams this offseason, though?
In his January 23 mailbag, The Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Pete Dougherty answered a fan’s question about the potential trade value of Willis and expressed skepticism that Willis would even fetch a Day 3 draft pick as a return given his lack of experience.
“If they could get a second-rounder for him, I’d probably have to do it if I were the Packers,” Dougherty wrote Thursday. “But I doubt they could get that. I’m not sure they could even get a D3, and I’d be less inclined to trade him for that, though it would at least be worth considering.”
The Packers only gave up a seventh-rounder for Willis, so they could chalk it up as a win if they returned a sixth-round pick or better for him in an offseason trade. Like with cutting him, though, a trade only works if the Packers do not believe there is a place for Willis in their future plans — and that includes as Love’s backup for the 2025 season.
Then again, if the Packers find a more suitable backup quarterback in free agency or scout a late-round prospect they like in the 2025 draft, a trade isn’t out of the question.
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