r/NFLv2 • u/TestSuch4545 Pittsburgh Steelers • 11h ago
Discussion Why did the Dolphins sign Malik Willis to a $67.5 million contract based off such a small sample size?
https://youtu.be/KyvBZeAnkN0?si=3AlFWtBFo1NmLdGF21
u/Special-General-7832 Las Vegas Raiders🏆🏆🏆 11h ago
Because theyre drafting his help, and this is what a rebuild looks like.
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u/Vechio49 San Francisco 49ers 11h ago
They will be drafting his replacement
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u/Special-General-7832 Las Vegas Raiders🏆🏆🏆 11h ago
Lol possibly but they already have Quinn Ewers dont they? Perfect oppurtunity for him.
But besides rebuilding, i think they wanted give malik a chance. Malik is probably better fit on a contender as a back up.
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u/IPissExcellentThrows Green Bay Packers 11h ago
He stepped in very well for us each time. I dont know how much of that is due to game planning for Love instead of Willis, but he was an awesome backup
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u/TestSuch4545 Pittsburgh Steelers 11h ago
You really think he is good enough to build around? That's certainly a gamble
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u/Special-General-7832 Las Vegas Raiders🏆🏆🏆 11h ago edited 11h ago
Idk, but thats what the dolphins seem to be doing lol.
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u/cosmic_backlash Miami Dolphins 7h ago
Of course he's not the #1 option to build around.
He's there to be the starter in the rebuild and hopefully the backup by year 3. Then he resigns as the backup cheap or walks.
There isn't a risk. The team knows they will be bad. He's a 3 year bridge QB on a deal that treats him like that.
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u/Ok_Bug_6890 New England Patriots 11h ago
I don’t know actually, but it’s not all his fault. Idk which team is worse this dolphins team or the 2019 one where they traded all talent at the beginning of the year.
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u/IceOk9930 Indianapolis Colts JT Goat/ d.doyle hater/Free C.Js dad 11h ago
this year imo especially with no achane
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u/jemstone_croc 11h ago
Didn't they end the season pretty well, including costing the Patriots playoff positioning in the season finale?
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u/AllGenreBuffaloClub Cincinnati Bengals 10h ago
They blessed the Bengals with Burrow by getting decent later in the season.
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u/Ok_Bug_6890 New England Patriots 11h ago
Yes
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u/jemstone_croc 11h ago
I would say this team may be worse, if only because I don't think the 2026 Dolphins have it in them. I don't think Willis is even as good at Fitzpatrick was.
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u/Impressive-Tax-6821 Detroit Lions 11h ago
I always thought it was a bridge-QB hire while they burn their dead money & rebuild. He cost like 40% of most starters.
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u/Sad-Boat6398 New Orleans Saints 10h ago
This is where I was. They are a long way from ready and he can start until they get the pieces to move forward. His contract isn’t prohibitive for any of that.
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u/klefikisquid 11h ago
Tank season. Best case he would turn it around on a cheapish deal but worst case which is still good is he sucks and they tank
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u/EstablishmentOld9838 11h ago
He had a small sample size of very good games last year. High risk, high reward move. It’s that simple
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u/wilyquixote 11h ago
It’s not even that high risk since expectations for the season were low and options were few. He’s one of the lowest paid starters in the league not on a rookie contract. What did this cost the Dolphins? Virtually nothing.
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u/WobbleWits Miami Dolphins 10h ago
He’s also basically on a 2 year deal so it’s really just 60 over 2 which ain’t that bad
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u/braumbles San Francisco 49ers 11h ago
I asked this and get down voted into oblivion. One moron claimed its because he brings the dolphins more money.
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u/Wendell-Short-Eyes 11h ago
67 million for a QB is peanuts. It was clear the dolphins had no intention on winning this year.
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u/braumbles San Francisco 49ers 11h ago
Then play someone like Skylar Thompson and then roll over the extra money next year.
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u/TestSuch4545 Pittsburgh Steelers 11h ago
I said it was a terrible decision when they first signed him and I got downvoted. Now I bring it up after they are 0-5 and he has just 1 TD pass, and I still get downvoted 🤣
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u/braumbles San Francisco 49ers 11h ago
Dude has 8 career passing TD's. It's insane he got that type of contract. Someone compared him to Matt Flynn, but Flynn scored 6 TD's in a single game. Malik threw 6 TD's his entire career before the Dolphins signed him.
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u/TestSuch4545 Pittsburgh Steelers 11h ago
Fans are obsessed with athleticism these days. My fellow Steeler fans wanted Joe Milton so bad during free agency..."because he throws far"
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u/braumbles San Francisco 49ers 11h ago
I talked to a Cowboys fan before the season started and he wanted Milton to start over Dak. I was perplexed and just sorta nodded and said interesting.
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u/goldiegoldthorpe 11h ago
Why? It's the lowest amount a free agent QB has signed for to be the starter. Only rookie contracts and Brissett's reworked deal are lower. They are on a three year rebuild. They gave him a three year deal to be the bridge QB and allotted basically the same amount of money from their cap per year as Kansas City gave Justin Fields to be a back up.
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u/braumbles San Francisco 49ers 11h ago edited 10h ago
Why sign one at all if your goal is to tank? They could have made a play at any real QB if they wanted. Especially with people like Jones, Murray, Cousins, among many others available.
Cousins for instance signed for 1/11.
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u/WobbleWits Miami Dolphins 10h ago
Because maybe he was a good QB. Why not? They had to get someone to play QB and his deal is basically 2 years
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u/gfan_13 11h ago
You should apply for a GM job, Nostradamus
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u/braumbles San Francisco 49ers 11h ago
Shit, I'd love to give away a billionaires money to people who don't deserve it.
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u/goldiegoldthorpe 11h ago
Teams don't pay players, the league does. Teams manage an allotment of the players' money, which is known as "the salary cap." Owners do not pay players out of pocket, they pay the players from the players' money.
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u/Set22band New England Patriots 11h ago
Does it bother you as a Steelers fan that they take these stop gap QBs that guarantee a wild card playoff loss instead of just tanking a year to try to draft a real franchise QB? It drives me nuts and im not even a Steelers fan.
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u/TestSuch4545 Pittsburgh Steelers 11h ago
Mixed feelings. With Tomlin not having a playoff win since Obama was president, I was more than happy to take a step back before we went forward. But with Rodgers and McCarthy at the helm now, we have more problems outside the QB spot. WRs have been our biggest problem for a good bit
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u/Set22band New England Patriots 11h ago
You guys used to pump out WRs.
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u/TestSuch4545 Pittsburgh Steelers 11h ago
I know. So much talent, but also so much drama. Now, we don't have much talent, but still some drama
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u/goldiegoldthorpe 11h ago
The Dolphins would be 0-5 with Josh Allen playing QB for them. Who cares about who they start at QB. They have a record amount of dead cap.
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u/TestSuch4545 Pittsburgh Steelers 10h ago
Allen could have beat the Bengals and the Vikings. Willis threw for 84 yards against the Vikings...
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u/strap535 11h ago
90% of reddit loved this deal when it was announced haha
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u/braumbles San Francisco 49ers 11h ago
Precisely why you should view the average reddit user as a bar fly who consumes ESPN all day.
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u/MGoBlue1416 5h ago
I mean it’s a dumb question.
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u/braumbles San Francisco 49ers 5h ago
No it's not. In a world of 'can you believe this guy got paid' we can't ignore the dumbest contract of the year.
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u/MGoBlue1416 5h ago
They had to pay someone. And they didn’t want to pay someone good. So they paid him mediocre money to be their qb. It’s that simple?
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u/Kam3234 Baltimore Ravens 11h ago
Familiarity, the dolphins signed the packers’ VP of player personnel to be their GM and jeff hafley to be their HC might as well sign willis and make it green bay south🤷🏾♂️
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u/OkFrosting8998 Tennessee Titans 11h ago
Dolphins also added Jon Robinson as their senior personnel director. Robinson was the Titans GM who drafted Malik originally.
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u/OzymanDS Green Bay Packers 11h ago
IIRC only two years are guaranteed. Justin "Ass" Fields got 20 million for the JETE last year.
2 options:
1 Malik is a class act culture guy and apparently a generational tank commander. 2 The Dolphins are made up of rookies, practice squad scrapings, and just a few seasoned vets like Sieler, Brewer etc. They really don't have money and Malik is a high ceiling guy who might need better weapons.
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u/E-L4087 Detroit Lions 11h ago
I think Malik was paid to tank the team. You pay him that much so he buys into it. If you don’t give him a lucrative deal. He gives up a guaranteed job for years probably to tank a team and no job afterwards. He’s got talent. This teams. Best wr. Is 5’8” and a return specialist on a team another team to prove himself to be wr 2 or 3. No investment in the oline that achane and tua desperately needed. TEs are being mismanaged. Justin Joly when healthy should be out there. He’s a great receiver and route runner. The offense is not built around his abilities either but that has a lot to do with the offensive makeup. This guy would thrive in a panthers setup or broncos. He’s getting paid to do what the team needs. It’s all business. Fans want wins from a team that will not be good for another couple years. Enjoy the lower ticket prices and overpaid HT shows to attract fans.
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u/TranslatorOwn6331 11h ago
Because they’re going to cut him before he gets paid all of the money
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u/Upton4 Green Bay Packers 11h ago
To some extent, yes.
He still got $45 million guaranteed and the Dolphins will have a ~$15 million dead cap hit if they cut him after his 2nd season.
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u/DoNotResusit8 Pittsburgh Steelers 11h ago
Trivial when the team is in rebuild mode.
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u/Upton4 Green Bay Packers 11h ago
Yeah, it’s certainly not much. Still don’t understand the point of $45 guaranteed if the intent was to simply tear it all down.
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u/Derp2638 New England Patriots 10h ago
It was probably something that was negotiated in the contract because everyone knows he was going to basically in essence be a sacrifice and a tank commander.
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u/Smooth_Marsupial_262 Baltimore Ravens 11h ago
I actually don’t hate the signing. I just think it would’ve made more sense for a team that needed a QB as the missing piece. Take a shot on a guy with some upside and see what he can give you with a good supporting cast. Think Browns, Minnesota. The Dolphins are just a shot situation right now
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u/CardiologistAny3061 Miami Dolphins 11h ago
This was the point. Burn it all down, and rebuild from the studs. We needed a QB after Tua, and obviously since our GM and head coach were from Green Bay, there’d be an obvious push toward Willis.
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u/DoubleDownAgain54 Miami Dolphins 11h ago
They didn’t. It’s a 2 year $45M a year deal. It was actually cheaper than what was previously speculated he would get. He is 20th in AAV. It’s below market rate for a starting QB.
It’s been five games, the booking closed yet. They have the entire season to evaluate him.
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u/FledglingNonCon Cleveland Browns 11h ago
One of the cheapest guys not on a rookie contract or clear backup deal behind a proven starter.
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u/imalittledepot 11h ago
I don't get the hate for this contract. Per year it's half what the franchise tag is for QB. If he's a stop gap it won't be hard to walk away from the deal and if he balls out he's a steal.
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u/gumercindo1959 11h ago
Because they are a poorly run organization starting with the owner. That’s why.
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u/throughNthrough Cincinnati Bengals 11h ago
Good starting qb’s don’t grow on trees and your team is fucked without one so you have to take risk.
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u/FireMickeyLoomis Dallas Cowboys 11h ago
Honestly should’ve stuck with ewers even if ewers sucked he was cheaper and this was always gonna be a rebuilding blow it all up year, Willis may be a little better because the supporting cast is god awful but he isn’t an elevator
So you right op he definitely wasn’t worth it
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u/RayDanielsOnTheAir New England Patriots 11h ago
What does it matter if he was cheaper? They have the third most cap space next year and Ewers isn’t good enough to develop other players. At least Willis came from a well-run organization.
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u/halfdecenttakes 11h ago
The actual reason is pretty straight forward, he was seen as a flier. If he’s some untapped gem, cool you get him for nothing but money and can move forward with him while focusing on other needs while moving. His contract isn’t crippling and it gives us somebody with potential (at least hypothetically) to take a look at during a down year.
If he doesn’t work, the Dolphins have zero delusions of being in a Super Bowl window so he can be cut down the road without some huge dead cap money without it hurting them.
Basically, you might as well take a look.
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u/Ok_Yesterday_3585 11h ago
The rigged element of the NFL has reached cartoonish levels of comedy
Willis is getting paid to sell
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u/RayDanielsOnTheAir New England Patriots 11h ago
I mean, he’s the 18th highest paid QB by AAV, and the only starters not on a rookie deal behind him are Brissett and Cousins. Perhaps you could quibble that Cousins would have been better, but either way if you have a young team that’s bad and needs to develop, getting a QB who will at least help foster that while losing is somewhat worthwhile.
It isn’t like he’s getting anywhere close to Mahomes money.
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u/Cactus2711 Philadelphia Eagles 11h ago
The worst roster in the league. Even Mahomes would look shit with these scrubs
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u/jf737 11h ago
You’re doing the same thing by asking this question off such a small sample size. Regardless…..
The Dolphins GM and HC were with him for 2 years in GB. They knew exactly what they were getting.
It’s a 3 year deal where the yearly salary is less than half of your average starting QB. It’s not a bad deal. If they draft a QB this year they can do what the Raiders are doing with Mendoza. It’s pretty smart.
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u/TestSuch4545 Pittsburgh Steelers 11h ago
45 million guaranteed when they could have found many QBs for way less than that, if their plan was to truly rebuild.
I was a critic of this signing even when it happened.
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u/jf737 10h ago
Why be critical? It’s a no lose deal. If he works out and plays like he did in that small sample size in GB, then you got yourself a QB on a cheap deal.
If he doesn’t work out, he’s a bridge QB who plays for 2 years and spends the 3rd year backing up whomever they draft. And if no one else wants him as a starter, you’ve got the inside track on a quality backup going forward. It’s a smart move and a good hedge.
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u/SugarAdamAli Chicago Bears 11h ago
Because they were desperate for a Qb but not sure why you would hand out that type of money when you in the process of a complete tear down and rebuild
Should have just grabbed guys like rattler, Levis, Flacco, etc for cheap
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u/No-Gas-1684 Buffalo Bills 11h ago
Because they had to pay somebody and they have to spend a certain % of their cap on their players.
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u/Mister_Chef711 New England Patriots 11h ago
He's the 17th highest paid QB in the league. 18th if you count Kyler Murray who is technically below him because the Vikings are only paying $1.3M but above when you account for the Cards paying him over $35M this year to not be on the roster.
Then when you account for the number of QBs who are on rookie deals who will make more than him on their next deal -- Williams, Bryce, Stroud, Daniels, Maye, Dart, Nix -- that moves him to 27th.
Other QBs who are starting on rookie deals but the jury is still out on whether or not they'll get big extensions -- Penix and Ward.
Of the starters on non-rookie deals who make less or equal to his current deal, you have -- Aaron Rodgers in his 40s making the same, Kirk Cousins mentoring a #1 pick, Geno Smith, and Jacoby Brissett.
At this point, I'd say Penix looks like he could get a deal if he can stay healthy through his extremely small sample size this year and Ward looks like a bust so I'll put Willis between them.
That makes him tied for 28th in the NFL once rookie contracts are expired and accounted for, 29th if you consider Mendoza will probably be taking over before the Willis contract is done.
Finally, remember that Willis's contract is only guaranteed for 2 seasons so they can draft Smith and then a QB the following year or draft a QB this year and let him wait behind Willis.
He showed potential. They took a low risk gamble despite the number seemingly looking high because they're paying for low end QB play when you look at the big picture.
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u/Itchy-Aide6525 Las Vegas Raiders 11h ago
If the dolphins have the #1 and dont take Jeremiah smith they deserve to keep losing forever
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u/OnlineIsNotAPlace New England Patriots 11h ago
because miami hired a bunch of packer front office people. they will all be leaving within 3 years.
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u/Griffisbored 10h ago
It sounds like a big contract, but relative to other QBs it's pretty cheap. The only starting QBs not on rookie deals who are making less per year than him are Jacoby Brissett and Kirk Cousins. Kirk is getting part of his salary from ATL and Brissett spent a lot of the off-season holding out for more money since his current contract was signed when he was brought in to backup to Kyler.
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u/mcbeardsauce New York Jets 10h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/ZqlvCTNHpqrio
Remember when people were trying to convince the rest the sane world that sample size was enough to justify the signing?
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u/Yvrhunter69 10h ago
Hes part of the problem but not the whole problem. Look at the rest of the team he has no help
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u/Chopper_Fortnite Minnesota Vikings 10h ago
It’s a fine deal lmao, it’s a 2 year deal so if he isn’t good this year then they only got one more year of him, and if he isn’t good then they found a franchise qb
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u/JiveChicken00 Philadelphia Eagles 10h ago
The bastard child of Joe Montana and Tom Brady couldn’t win with that offense.
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u/kimbosdurag 9h ago
Because they clearly wanted to tank? They also dumped their offensive assets minus achane to provide some plausible deniability.
Or the less conspiracy based theory is just that they are a horribly run organization. The same reason they haven't won a playoff game since the year 2000.
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u/TestSuch4545 Pittsburgh Steelers 7h ago
Tanking by giving out 45 million guaranteed is certainly a choice. They could’ve brought in a guy for 5 times cheaper, or start Ewers and see what he had
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u/QuinnTinIntheBin Philadelphia Eagles 9h ago
He’s not great but his team is literally a bunch of YMCA players.
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u/Alarming_Disaster_23 7h ago
Who cares? It’s the owner’s money and it’s not like it hurts their cap situation. They got him relatively cheap and can cut him after next year if he doesn’t improve. The next guy will be on a rookie contract anyway.
Who could they afford who would be better? Don’t tell me Kirk Cousins because his deal is more than double what the Dolphins paid Willis.
Malik Willis hasn’t been good, but the pass protection has been bad too. The right side of the line falls apart on just about every pass. Plus they are playing rookie receivers. It’s hard to get a decent read on him and it’s only been 5 games. It hardly matters anyway because everyone knows he’s not the long term guy.
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u/overworkedattorney NFC 11h ago
I get paying a bridge qb, but I don't understand the years. The bulk of the guaranteed money is next year. It's a multi year tank job.
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u/M7BSVNER7s Green Bay Packers 11h ago
It's a bridge not a stepping stone so the contract being multiple years makes sense. Having Willis on the team next year let's the rookie QB they will draft on 2027 sit a few games on the bench before being forced to start.
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u/oscarnyc New York Giants 11h ago
Not true. The gtd cash is spread pretty evenly between this year and next. If you mean the cap hit, then yes but 1) most every contract has back loaded cap hits and 2) I imagine the Dolphins had little flexibility because they have to eat Tua deal.
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u/overworkedattorney NFC 9h ago
Yes I'm looking at cap hit, and he has big cap hit next year. I can't imagine them going into next year still wanting to play him.
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u/Beanu5NE Vince Wilfork: Butt Fumble Connoisseur 11h ago
Dude got that Matt Flynn deal