According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, there are “several teams” already keeping tabs on Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis going into next year’s free agency period. Willis is in the final year of his rookie contract, and Willis’ price tag is expected to be in the $5 million to $8 million range, though that number was calculated before last week, when he posted a 142.8 passer rating.
Willis is expected to start on Saturday for the Packers, as preferred starting quarterback Jordan Love
did not pass through concussion protocol this week.
Here’s what Fowler had to say about Willis:
Speaking of Willis, he’s a very intriguing free agent to watch next spring. He was the 86th pick in the 2022 draft, which means he’s playing on the fourth and final year of his rookie deal. He is 26 years old and has now spent basically two full seasons being coached by Matt LaFleur, Adam Stenavich and the Packers’ offensive coaching staff, and he has played well when he has had to fill in for Love because of injury. As we discussed above, there are a lot of teams that are going to be in the QB market this offseason. Not all of them will be able to address the position via the draft, and several have their eyes on Willis as a potential solution given what he has been able to do in Green Bay. The Packers like him a lot and could try to keep him, but if he has a chance to go somewhere else and compete for a starting job, that might be tough to do.
The point about the draft is interesting because of how few underclassmen quarterbacks have declared. This was never going to be a deep class of senior passers, but the assumption was that the underclassmen would help bump the class up.
So far, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, USC’s Jayden Maiava, Cincinnati’s Brandan Sorsby, Texas’ Arch Manning and Duke’s Darian Mensah have all decided to go back to school. The only underclassman who seems to be a lock to declare this year is Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman winner who is likely to go first overall.
Without the underclassmen (and Mendoza), here are the top-200 ranked quarterback prospects, according to the consensus draft board:
- #1 Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
- #47 Garrett Nuzzmeier, LSU (coming off injury)
- #87 Cade Klubnik, Clemson
- #104 Drew Allar, Penn State (coming off injury)
- #109 Carson Beck, Miami
- #192 Taylen Green, Arkansas
There’s going to be more demand in the NFL than just four healthy quarterbacks in this draft cycle. That will probably help Willis’ camp at the negotiating table when numbers really start to fly around at the combine in February.
Also, Fowler mentioned that the Packers believed that Love was going to earn a Pro Bowl honor this year, even though he was left off for the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, the Rams’ Matthew Stafford and the Seahawks’ Sam Darnold. Had Love made the Pro Bowl, he would have been paid an extra $250,000 by the team.
