Malik Willis is shaping up as one of the bigger question marks heading into free agency. The 26-year-old spent the last two seasons in Green Bay as Jordan Love’s backup, and the numbers he put up during that stretch are hard to ignore.
Willis completed 78.7 percent of his passes and posted a 134.6 passer rating while throwing for 972 yards and six touchdowns without a single interception. He added 241 rushing yards on 42 carries, good for 6.2 yards per attempt, and ran in three more scores.
With his rookie contract now expired, teams searching for a quarterback are going to get their shot at him.
Free agency opens Wednesday, March 11 at 4 p.m. ET, and the speculation around Willis potentially landing a QB1 role somewhere has been building. One team that continues to surface in quarterback conversations is the Cleveland Browns.
Why the Browns could make sense as a potential landing spot
The Browns have been tied to just about every available quarterback over the last few months, and Willis is starting to show up in those conversations more frequently. Reports suggest Cleveland has him on its list as free agency approaches, and the fit makes sense when you break it down.
Willis plays a lot like Lamar Jackson in terms of mobility and accuracy, which is the exact style Todd Monken got the most production out of during his time as offensive coordinator in Baltimore. If the Browns remain confident in Shedeur Sanders and hand him the starting job, Willis could come in as a high-upside backup.
If Sanders struggles or Deshaun Watson cannot stay healthy, Willis becomes a legitimate fallback option. But, Cleveland has been doing its homework on other quarterbacks, too. Former Alabama signal-caller Ty Simpson visited the team recently ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Adding Willis in free agency would let the Browns use both of their first-round picks to address other needs, and the offensive line is probably a bigger concern than the quarterback position at this point anyway.
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