Dolphins land QB Malik Willis in free agency

It was out with the old and in with the new for the Miami Dolphins at quarterback on the first day of NFL free agency Monday.

As the Dolphins parted ways with former franchise quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the morning, within the first hour of free agency opening in the afternoon, they agreed to terms with former Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis, according to a league source.

Willis is signing with the Dolphins on a three-year contract for $67.5 million with $45 million guaranteed, according to multiple reports. Free agents can officially begin signing contracts with new teams at the start of the league year, Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Willis is reunited with new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley, who were both with him in Green Bay the past two seasons as he backed up Jordan Love.

He told ESPN’s “Pat McAfee Show,” moments after agreeing to the deal, he’s “super excited” to work with people he’s familiar with in Sullivan and Hafley.

Willis, despite a small sample size of success in the NFL, was the prized quarterback of the 2026 free agency class because he stood out in spot duties for the Packers in 2024 and 2025 after a short tenure with the Tennessee Titans his first two professional seasons.

With Green Bay the past two seasons, Willis completed 70-of-89 passes for 972 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions while rushing for 261 yards and three more scores on the ground.

His dual-threat abilities are expected to ignite the Dolphins offense with an element that has not been seen recently in Miami, especially with Tagovailoa behind center.

The only knock on him is he has just six career starts, the first three coming with the Titans in 2022 after he was selected in the third round of that draft out of Liberty.

Speaking at the NFL scouting combine Feb. 24, Sullivan deemed Willis one of several quarterbacks the Dolphins were looking into ahead of free agency. The question was always how much Willis’ market would take off, depending on if another team was willing to approach $30 million-per-year territory on a deal, pricing Miami out in a year where the franchise shouldn’t be overspending on free agents.

“Have we had conversations about Malik? I think anybody that is potentially in the quarterback market would be lying to you if they said they are not,” Sullivan said at the combine. “My job is to infuse competition into that quarterback room, whether it’s Malik or another free agent or through the draft.”

Sullivan and Hafley have consistently said there will be competition at quarterback. Giving Willis big money, he is in line to have the starting job over Quinn Ewers, who started the final three games last season in place of Tagovailoa.

The Dolphins offense, which will be run by Bobby Slowik as offensive coordinator, figures to be one of the more electric, exciting ones with Willis at quarterback, De’Von Achane at running back and Jaylen Waddle as the top wide receiver.

With the impending release of Tagovailoa, the Dolphins are cutting their one-time franchise quarterback whom the team selected with the No. 5 pick of the 2020 draft and signed to a lucrative contract extension in 2024.

The release signifies Sullivan couldn’t find a trade partner to offload Tagovailoa and his contract. He was set to make $54 million guaranteed in 2026. A league-record $99.2 million dead cap hit comes with the cut of Tagovailoa.

The move is designated as a post-June 1 release, according to a league source, so that cap hit is split over the next two seasons, with $67.4 million of the dead money going against the team in 2026.

Later Monday, the Atlanta Falcons agreed to a deal with Tagovailoa, according to multiple national reports.

Tagovailoa played six seasons with the Dolphins. He is the franchise’s career leader in passer rating (96.4) and completion percentage (68) among quarterbacks with at least 200 attempts. He is fourth in passing yards (18,166) and touchdowns (120), behind Dan Marino, Bob Griese and Ryan Tannehill in both categories.

Tagovailoa’s professional career in Miami, after he was a college football star at Alabama, started inauspiciously, as he was largely doubted for his ability in the NFL.

After an uneven first two seasons under the tough coaching of Brian Flores, coach Mike McDaniel, who was fired after the 2025 season, can be credited for sparking a turnaround for him going into 2022.

Tagovailoa led the NFL in passer rating (105.5) and yards per attempt (8.9) in 2022, passing yards (4,624) in 2023 and completion percentage (72.9) in 2024.

Missing time suffering two documented concussions in 2022, Tagovailoa overcame the head injuries in 2023 and made his lone Pro Bowl appearance after a fully healthy season.

The injury concerns resurfaced in 2024, though, as he missed four games on injured reserve due to a concussion and then sat the final two games of the season with a hip ailment.

In 2025, it wasn’t injuries but performance. While healthy, he threw 15 interceptions in his 14 starts, which was up for the league lead until he was benched.

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