The Miami Dolphins said goodbye to one quarterback on Monday morning. By Monday afternoon, they were saying hello to a new one.

The Dolphins have reportedly agreed to terms with quarterback Malik Willis, landing on a three-year, $67.5 million contract with $45 million guaranteed per reports. Willis has plenty of familiarity with new Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley and new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan after two years in Green Bay — which helped to revitalize his career after a slow start in Tennessee. How does the money line up? What’s the cap schedule look like? Let’s grade this reported pending signing.

Grading the Miami Dolphins’ reported agreement with QB Malik Willis

I tapped in to Wendell Ferreira of A to Z Sports Green Bay for his input on Willis’ time in Green Bay to help properly frame his standing as a league quarterback from someone who knows him well. Here’s what Wendell had to say:

“A total of 64 quarterbacks have had at least 100 plays since the Green Bay Packers traded a seventh-round pick for Malik Willis back in 2024. Among them, Willis is first in adjusted EPA/play, first in completion percentage over expectation, 10th in success rate, and 11th in air yards.

Sure, the sample size is small and there’s obvious risk. But the bad evidence in Tennessee is even smaller. A former third-round pick who was mostly perceived as a first-round talent ahead of the 2022 draft, Malik Willis is still 26 years old and has all the physical tools a quarterback needs to thrive in the NFL. His athletic ability is impressive, and that helped Matt LaFleur build an offense on short notice when Jordan Love got hurt early in the 2024 season.

But it’s not only that. As Willis got more familiar with the scheme, he turned out to be a real threat as a passer as well, and the consistency was notable. A quarterback doesn’t hit free agency without inherent risk, but Willis is a valuable bet for anyone based on what he did in his two years in Green Bay.

The production, in a limited sample size for the Packers, was quite good. That athletic profile will serve as a breath of fresh air for Dolphins fans too, after six seasons of a generally static pocket passer in Tua Tagovailoa holding serve behind center. Willis is an explosive athlete with a big arm and, thanks to his time in Green Bay, shows a baseline level of quarterbacking that escaped him when he left Liberty for the NFL.

I won’t sit here and tell you that there’s not risk involved. Of course there is. You’re transplanting a player from one environment into another — and the Dolphins aren’t as deep of a roster as Green Bay’s is. All the while, you’re paying Willis significantly more money. But his $22.5 million per year average will rank 21st among NFL quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers is the only non-rookie contract at the position that is cheaper for a (presumed) starter.

His $45 million guaranteed at signing comes in 18th among NFL quarterback contracts. There’s upside, and potential that are worth the price of admission for a player that is in the physical prime of his game while potentially scratching the surface of what he’s capable of as a starter.

And if it goes poorly? Well, the Dolphins will have a one-year commitment left for Willis to roll with in 2027 and they’ll be in a position to draft a quarterback early next spring. The downside here is simply paying the money — which some people don’t want to do.

I get why, especially as Miami’s last quarterback turned out to be a lemon within 7 quarters of signing a big money contract. But the rundown of pros and cons to this deal skew dramatically to the side of the pros.

Grading the terms of agreement

The worst part about this deal is it includes $45 million in cash guarantees. In today’s NFL, that’s one year of Myles Garrett or Ja’Marr Chase. The best part about this deal is the physical ability and untapped potential of Willis for just $45 million in cash guarantees across two seasons.

I’m not going to guarantee you this works. I’m just going to guarantee you it’s worth paying THIS cost to find out.

GRADE: A-