Jason McCourty pitches Malik Willis to replace Tua Tagovailoa as Miami Dolphins QB

Now that we are in the NFL offseason, QB Malik Willis is going to be one of the big names to watch as far as familiar faces in new places. The Green Bay Packers’ backup and former third round pick could be an option for the Miami Dolphins.

At least, that’s what former DB Jason McCourty said. Now that Miami pivoted to Packers DC Jeff Hafley as its new head coach, current quarterback Tua Tagovailoa could be on thin ice and not be in South Florida in 2026.

Willis, since his two-year stint with the Tennessee Titans, has shown noticeable improvement in Green Bay whenever he had to fill in for an injured Jordan Love. Hafley could very well reunite with him in warmer conditions, no?

“Doesn’t look like Tua Tagovailoa is going to be back, I’m assuming this,” McCourty said on Get Up. “I would say if you’re Jeff Hafley, you just spent the last two years going against Malik Willis every single day in practice and running the scout team. You’ve got to see his development there under LaFleur. Why not bring him over as a free agent and see what he can do with your offense with Bobby Slowick as the offensive coordinator?”

Willis has six starts under his belt in four seasons, going 3-3. Overall, with his starts and game appearances (22), Willis has 1,322 yards, six touchdowns, three interceptions, a 67.7% completion percentage, 405 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

The former Liberty and Auburn QB never really got off the ground with the Titans in 2022 and ’23, but saw a bit of a resurgence under Matt LaFleur in Green Bay. How that bodes for him moving forward remains to be seen.

The general feeling around the Dolphins, and why they could pursue Willis, is that Tagovailoa is done in Miami. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that “feeling” late last month.

“You heard Jon-Eric Sullivan, the new Dolphins General Manger there, be non-committal to Tua Tagovailoa,” Schefter said on NFL Live. “They obviously need to speak with him before they make any public pronouncements, but there’s a feeling around the league that has persisted that Tua Tagovailoa has played his last down in Miami. The only question now is how and when the team moves on from him – whether the Dolphins want to swallow one $99 million dead cap hit one whole fell swoop or whether they want to spread it out to two years. That’s the decision that the two former Packers employees will have to come to.

“But the biggest challenge that group is going to have is finding a quarterback, especially in a division where Buffalo has Josh Allen, where the New England Patriots have Drake Maye and where the New York Jets have like nine No. 1 draft picks over the next few years.”