Latest market update is music to Packers’ ears and exactly what their long-term roster plan needs
Malik Willis is set to hit free agency.
The Green Bay Packers gave up only a seventh-round pick for two years of excellent backup quarterback play out of Malik Willis. Now, he’s likely to leave Green Bay, but that doesn’t mean the Packers won’t get any type of compensation.
On the “Rich Eisen Show,” NFL insider Ian Rapoport said he expects Malik Willis to get a significant contract in free agency — which could potentially put the Packers in position to receive a compensatory third-round pick in 2027.
Quarterback market
When asked about if Malik Willis could follow Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley to the Miami Dolphins, Rapoport said there’s a financial component to the equation.
“Can they afford Malik Willis is an interesting question,” Rapoport said. “Everyone in the world is saying, well, obviously he’s going to go to Miami. It’s the people who traded for him and they know him well. I think Malik Willis is just going to have a really, really, really good market. When he’s played in some tough situations, he has been really impressive.”
Last offseason, the last player to generate a third-round compensatory pick was tackle Dan Moore Jr., who signed with the Tennessee Titans for $20.5 million a year. Aaron Banks, who signed with the Packers for $19.25 million a year, is expected to generate a fourth to the San Francisco 49ers. Considering cap inflation, Willis would have to sign a deal with something around $22 million a year to put the Packers in position to get a third — obviously, Green Bay couldn’t sign an equivalent external free agent to secure the pick.
“So can they find a way to keep him under the cap?,” Rapoport questioned about the Dolphins. “I don’t know, because they’re going to have competition. That’s one thing that happens this time of year. It’s like, okay, so he has a background here, he’s obviously going here. When you actually look at the money, that would be tough for Miami to do. They could do it, they’ve got smart people, but it might be too big of a challenge.”
Besides the Dolphins, the Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, and New York Jets could all be on the quarterback market — and it’s not a particularly enticing draft class at the position.
Willis getting a huge salary would be the perfect scenario for the Packers. First, because they would be able to show other potential targets how they can put players in position to earn big contracts in the future. And second, the much-needed draft capital to keep executing their draft and develop model.
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