3 Malik Willis trade offers the Packers can’t refuse with Jordan Love imminent return

The Green Bay Packers acquired Malik Willis from the Tennessee Titans in exchange for a seventh-round pick just days before the regular season. After spending all summer switching between horrible options behind Jordan Love, the Packers finally bit the bullet and added a true backup quarterback.

As fate would have it, this investment paid off almost immediately. Jordan Love went to the ground with an ankle injury in the final seconds of Green Bay’s season opener. Willis is now 2-0 in Love’s place, including a win against his former team last Sunday. In a 30-14 win over the wayward Titans, Willis completed 13 of 19 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown. He added another 76 yards plus a score on the ground.

It was an efficient and effective dual-threat afternoon for Willis, who was everything Green Bay fans could have hoped for for two weeks. A backup’s job is to keep the offense afloat. Not necessarily to dominate at the highest level, but to maintain competitive matches until the starter returns. Going 2-0, even against mediocre competition, is a major accomplishment for Willis.

Many people were skeptical of Willis, who couldn’t break through in a deep Tennessee QB room, but right now the Titans are probably looking at Willis’ success with a jealous eye. He was definitely better than Will Levis.

While Green Bay has surely appreciated Willis’ productivity over the past two weeks. Jordan Love is set to return in the Week 4 showdown with the Vikings. This gives Green Bay a golden opportunity to strike while the iron is hot and take away Willis’ assets with another trade. Such a maneuver always carries risk — Love could get hurt again — but extracting assets from your backup QB contract is usually a solid deal.

Here are some wise trades.

The Miami Dolphins continue to wait for a clear recovery timetable for Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered his fourth documented concussion in Week 2. In his place, the Dolphins currently must choose between (now injured) Skylar Thompson and Tim Boyle, neither of whom should do so. take consistent shots for a presumed suitor.

Willis has proven his basic skill in recent weeks. His mobility would add a new dynamic to Mike McDaniel’s vaunted offense, and it’s hard to mess up throwing the football to Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane out of the backfield. Thompson and Boyle are proof can be missed, but Willis has legitimate arm talent and a penchant for extended plays. There’s something there.

Miami’s offense is notoriously complex and learning it on the fly midseason would be a challenge for Willis. We almost certainly wouldn’t see the full playbook, and there’s a good chance Tagovailoa will be back in the saddle before too long. But, in the meantime, Willis is still a clear improvement over the Dolphins’ current options, regardless of how simple the play calls are.

If Tagovailoa is forced to sit out for an extended period of time — or if he chooses to do so of his own accord, which would be entirely justified — Miami needs a stable option. This is a roster built for the playoffs. There’s no point in wasting a season.

The Las Vegas Raiders had the honor of being eliminated by the Carolina Panthers last week. We can’t exactly blame Gardner Minshew for Andy Dalton’s remarkable skill or Carolina’s 36 points, but we can blame him for a completely anemic Raiders offense. The Panthers haven’t stopped anyone all season. It helps when the Panthers’ offense can actually sustain drives and keep the defense off the field, but the optics of this loss were terrible for Minshew and Las Vegas nonetheless.

Antonio Pierce hinted at a potential QB change after Aidan O’Connell led the last drive, but Minshew will get the nod again in Week 4. Minshew is fine – he’s a journeyman all round. adequate fact who made the Pro Bowl last season – but with injuries piling up and a weak O-line in front of him, it’s fair to wonder if Minshew has a path to success in Las Vegas.

O’Connell is fine. He wasn’t terrible as a rookie, which in itself is a distinction among quarterbacks, but he still has decision-making flaws that keep Minshew in the QB1 slot. Rather than choosing between two completely milquetoast options, Las Vegas should consider bringing in some fresh legs and a new arm.

This isn’t to derail the Willis hype train, but mobile quarterbacks who don’t overthrow the football are all the rage in today’s NFL. He’s not the next Josh Allen, but Willis is still 25 years old with fairly limited exposure at the professional level. The Titans simply had too much talent in front of him. Now that Willis has seized his opportunity in Green Bay, there’s reason to believe he could benefit a team in Las Vegas’ situation. It’s worth it.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 3-0 with Justin Fields under center, which has created a lot of buzz about what the future holds for Russell Wilson. The veteran and nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback was named the starter late in the preseason, but a nagging calf injury forced him out of action. Fields hasn’t done much to dissuade the Steelers coaching staff from sticking with him, even though Russ has more experience.

Wilson’s name and image alone stir up a certain level of controversy, especially when he sits on the bench. That’s noise the Steelers don’t need if Fields is the full-time starter. This could benefit all parties involved if Russ is traded. And, while Russ probably doesn’t want to ride the bench behind a star quarterback like Jordan Love, he simply isn’t able to truly control his destiny.

The Packers offer Russ a path to Super Bowl contention and the chance to lead a much more competent offense if disaster strikes and Love is injured again. The Steelers, meanwhile, are handing the reins to Fields while keeping their feet close to the fire. Are we sure Willis isn’t better than Fields? This trade keeps the element of competition alive in the Steelers’ QB room without any drama related to the roster (and potentially benching) of Russell Wilson, a former Super Bowl champion.

This exchange has the chance to take place amicably for both parties. The Steelers have another dual-threat, heavyweight QB to game plan in place of Fields, should that become necessary. We don’t hear much about the stylistic differences between Wilson and Fields, but Willis aligns much more closely with the latter. Being able to run the same play packages for Willis if he spells Fields could help maintain continuity in Pittsburgh’s offense.

Is this trade essential? Maybe not, but it removes a dark cloud from the Steelers organization and maintains a competent backup behind Jordan Love, while recouping draft capital for Green Bay.