The Green Bay Packers quarterback room is a crowded one, but could Malik Willis be the odd man out? Willis is the odds-on favorite to land the backup job in Green Bay given how productive the Packers offense looked with him running the show when Jordan Love couldn't. What Willis lacks as a consistent passer he more than makes up for as a dual-threat player, something Matt LaFleur used to his advantage last season. The Packers even created offensive packages for Willis when Love was healthy. However, could a trade back to the Titans be on the horizon?
As unlikely as that would seem given Tennessee dumped Willis just last offseason, the player they counted on to start in his steed won't play this season. Will Levis will undergo season-ending surgery on the right shoulder injury he suffered last year. Cam Ward, the No. 1 pick in April's draft, is going to start Week 1 barring any major changes. However, the Titans should at the very least add a more reliable veteran presence behind Ward than Tim Boyle.
Could the Packers trade Malik Willis back to the Titans?
That's where Willis comes in. If he were traded back to the Titans, he'd be in a familiar offense having improved his own skillset. There'd be little drama, as it's clear Ward is their long-term option at quarterback – but Willis would receive the opportunity to compete for the starting job. He's not going to get that chance anywhere else.
As for why the Titans traded Willis in the first place, they didn't see a path forward for him in Tennessee, as a starting quarterback or a backup. Mason Rudolph won the latter job, while Levis started the season. Neither were the right option. Here is what Ran Carthon had to say about trading Willis at the time.
"I think Malik earned the opportunity to have a chance to be the backup, whether it was here or somewhere else," Carthon said. "He fought his ass off while he was here and did everything we asked him to do."
What a Packers-Titans trade for Malik Willis would look like
Willis isn't the second-coming of Michael Vick or Donovan McNabb, but he can be a productive game-manager in the right system and perhaps develop into a capable starting quarterback. The Titans ought to take a chance on him, and it wouldn't come at some great expense.
The Packers only had to trade a seventh-round pick to land Willis in the first place, so landing a fifth-round selection in return to send him back to Tennessee would be the ultimate heist by Brian Gutekunst. It's also what starting-caliber quarterbacks cost in the NFL economy these days.
If the Titans want to protect Ward from a Week 1 start date, then they have to pay the tax and swallow their pride in the process.