The Green Bay Packers are changing course at backup quarterback behind Jordan Love. After uninspiring summers from second-year quarterback Sean Clifford and rookie Michael Pratt, the Packers swung a trade on Monday — agreeing to send a seventh-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for quarterback Malik Willis, a third-round pick in the 2022 draft. The news was reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The Packers may still keep Clifford or Pratt, either as a short-term option while Willis gets up to speed or — especially in the case of Pratt — as another developmental option at the game’s most important position.
This trade provides the Packers with a talented quarterback, but did they fix their problem?
Here are some pros and cons of the Packers trading for Willis:
Pros
— Willis is a dynamic athlete with a big arm, giving him rare tools at the quarterback position. Obviously, further development is required. But from a talent standpoint, the Packers upgraded in a big way. Willis has plus athleticism as a runner and a big-time arm — two attributes Clifford and Pratt mostly lack. In his pre-draft report, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com said Willis has “elite rushing talent and a rocket-launching right arm.”
— The Packers couldn’t sit around and wait for Clifford or Pratt to figure it out on the fly. This is a proactive move to attempt to fix a glaring roster hole for a contender ahead of the 2024 season.
— If he can pick up the offense, Willis could be a tremendous fit in Matt LaFleur’s run-action, vertical-based passing attack. With Love locked up long-term, the Packers have time to develop Willis in the system.
— Willis had a strong preseason in 2024, completing 20 of 27 passes and rushing for 101 yards. He hit a couple of big plays (2-for-2 on passes of 20 or more yards) and had four runs of 10 or more yards. Is the light starting to come on?
— Given his athleticism and strength as a runner, Willis gives the Packers a brand new dynamic at the quarterback position. As noted by Andy Herman, Green Bay faces Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson early in the regular season, so Willis’ skillset will provide immediate preparation value on the practice field.
— If Willis ends up being the right answer behind Love, it’d be hard to argue against the price. We’re talking about a likely late seventh-round pick.
Cons
— Willis has played in only 11 regular season games and attempted only 65 passes, so experience is limited. This isn’t the veteran quarterback many believed the Packers would target behind Love.
— Did the Packers find a quarterback who can come in and win a game or two if Love got hurt? Willis, despite being in Year 3, fits more in the “developmental” box.
— In his limited experience in the regular season, Willis completed 53.0 percent of his passes, averaged 5.3 yards per attempt and threw zero touchdowns and three interceptions. While he flashed some tackle-breaking ability as a runner (eight missed tackles forced on 32 attempts), he also fumbled four times.
— Willis was unable to beat out Mason Rudolph for the backup spot in Tennessee.
— He’ll be starting over in another new offense in Green Bay. Does anything stunt a quarterback’s development more than constantly switching offenses? Willis needs to master all the little things at the position to get better, but now he must learn a new offense and new fundamentals within an offense. Patience is required.
— The Packers are trading away a seventh-round pick. It’s not a big price to pay but consider that the team already used a fifth-round pick in 2023 on Clifford and a seventh-round pick this year on Pratt. And don’t forget…Brian Gutekunst has been pretty good with seventh-round picks as of late.
— The Packers traded for a player who was likely to be released. That’s sometimes the price of doing business when you want a player but fear you’ll lose him on waivers.
