Paul Bretl | 8/28/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Brian Gutekunst’s decision to make the trade for now former Tennessee Titans’ quarterback Malik Willis was two-fold. On one hand, as Gutekunst put it, the Packers’ backup quarterback competition underwhelmed. On the other hand, he was impressed by the improvement Willis had made this summer.
“I think certainly there were some underwhelming performances at times,” said Gutekunst of the backup quarterback competition this summer. “But at the same time, Malik is a guy that certainly – he’s in his third-year and he really has shown a lot of progression, particularly this preseason. It was just an opportunity for us to add a guy that I think can not only make plays with his arm but with his legs, as well. I’m excited to get him, get him in the building and see where that goes.”
Willis is entering his third NFL season after being a third-round pick by Tennessee in 2022, and put together a strong preseason performance. Over those three games with the Titans, he completed 74.1 percent of his 27 throws at 7.6 yards per attempt with two touchdowns to one interception, along with rushing for 101 yards at 9.2 yards per carry.
That progress Willis made this summer, and not only in the final numbers he produced but in how he acclimated himself to the new offense and the process component of playing the quarterback position, is what really stood out to Gutekunst. That growth coupled with Willis’ big arm and ability to make plays with his legs are what sparked the Packers’ pursuit.
“I thought this year in particular,” said Gutekunst “and there was a coaching staff change as well, took over the new system, but the way he kind of–his patience, the way he was going through his progressions and able to play from the pocket. When to run, when not to run–those kind of things. I thought, again, it’s a short sample size in the preseason, but I thought he did a nice job. Just again, I think his ability to win with his arm and with his legs was something that attracted us to him.”
In addition to the strides Willis has made this summer, the eventual continuity that the Packers can provide will hopefully help him get to the next level as well. Although it’ll take some time for the continuity aspect of being in LaFleur’s offense to become a benefit for Willis, that element has been missing in his first three NFL seasons. Navigating three offenses in three seasons is by no means the only reason that Willis took some lumps during his first two years, but it didn’t help things either.
“I learned at a crazy rate,” said Willis. “This is my fourth offense going into my third year, so it’s what it is and just being able to adapt has really made me not proud but definitely leaning on that and continuing to just grind and work hard and continuing to let things play out how they’re supposed to.”
Now a part of the Packers, Willis will be tasked with learning as much of the offense as he can before the team’s Week 1 matchup in Brazil against the Philadelphia Eagles, which is now just 10 days away. It’s always a quick turnaround in the NFL. After being told on Monday he was being traded, Willis arrived in Green Bay Tuesday afternoon, was at the facility well into the night, and then on the practice field Wednesday.
“The process it’s more than anything getting in front of it and learning everything you can,” said Willis about learning a new offense. “Being really a sponge to anything the coaches have, anything the other guys in the room have, anything I can read on my own and watch film and seeing it done, just more than anything repetition. That’s what it is at this point.”
Willis is going to be the Packers’ backup quarterback this season. However, in such a short timeframe to acclimate himself to a new offense, can he be relied upon to fill that role in just a week and a half? That part of the equation is still to be determined.
“We will see,” said LaFleur. “I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes today. I know he’s a pretty smart guy. We’ve had an opportunity to meet with him. It’s not like you’re getting a rookie in here. He does have obviously a foundation. It’s just translating what he’s learned in the past and putting it into our terms, and then coaching him on the run.
“So there’s a lot of work to be done between now and when we have to play our game, but we’ll see where he is at that moment and make the best decision for our football team.
Helping Willis get acclimated to the Packers playbook, a fairly robust one under LaFleur, is his past experience of playing under then Titans’ offensive coordinator Todd Downing, who had spent time under Arthur Smith on the heels of him spending time with LaFleur when he was in Tennessee. As LaFleur put it on Wednesday, there is “a little bit” of crossover in terminology and some of what Willis will be asked to do in Green Bay.
If Willis isn’t quite ready to assume that role, the Packers do have Sean Clifford back on the practice squad and could choose to elevate him to the active roster for Week 1. Despite the very up and down performance throughout training camp and the preseason from Clifford, the Packers brought him back because of what he’s previously shown them he can do, and are willing to rely on him in that backup role early on if that’s what is needed.
“I think we have confidence in him,” said LaFleur of Clifford. “I told Sean, I think we’ve seen him play better than all the things we saw throughout the course of the offseason I would say, from training camp and in those preseason games. He’s just got to get back to really the core fundamentals that allow you to play the game fast. Reading with your feet is one of those. But we certainly still have a lot of confidence in Sean. It’s just the circumstance we’re in right now.”
In his first two seasons, Willis has appeared in seven games. He’s completed just 51 percent of his throws with no touchdowns and three interceptions. Some may view the move to Green Bay as a fresh start for him. However, Willis doesn’t see it that way. Of course, he’s appreciative of the opportunity, and thanked both the Titans and Packers’ organizations in the first question he answered at his locker.
But instead, Willis is more concerned with the day-to-day. He understands that in the NFL, your tape is your resume, and it’s his intention to change those perceptions. Accomplishing that isn’t done by worrying about what’s happened in the past or what could happen in the future, rather it’s about focusing on the process.
“You work hard every day to work on those things that may be deficiencies or just mistakes,” said Willis. “You learn from those bumps and bruises. You just wait for another opportunity. You just stick around until you get another opportunity, and I think that’s been the main thing – focus on the process and not maybe the results.”