NFL trade grades: Packers finally add worthwhile backup for Jordan Love in deal with Titans

The Green Bay Packers fandom can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe.

After suffering through the varying degrees of mediocrity encompassed by Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt in preseason action, Green Bay has officially landed its new QB2 in a trade with the Tennessee Titans. Malik Willis, a 2022 third-round pick out of Liberty, is on his way to the land of cheeseheads.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport broke the news. The Titans will receive a seventh-round pick in exchange, cementing Will Levis and Mason Rudolph atop their QB depth chart.

Packers trade for Titans' Malik Willis in bed to silence backup QB doubts

This trade was several weeks in the making for Green Bay. It's generally not worth hyperfixating on your backup quarterback, especially after signing Jordan Love to the largest contract in NFL history, but the Packers' alternatives were unusually incompetent throughout the preseason. Both Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt have their positive traits, but neither has the arm talent to successfully navigate NFL defenses. It's that simple.

Willis arrives as a backup option with actual, you know, long-term potential. We shouldn't oversell this move — Willis is almost entirely unproven at the NFL level — but he's a sizable upgrade over Green Bay's other options. He was buried, somewhat unfairly, in a deep Tennessee QB room. Now he's the undisputed QB2 in Green Bay, and the Packers can feel at least a little better if Love is forced to miss time.

Willis has appeared in 11 games (three starts) across two NFL seasons, completing 53.0 percent of his passes for 350 yards. He has three interceptions to his name and he's still waiting on his first passing touchdown (he ran for 123 yards and a touchdown in eight games as a rookie).

Generally, "zero passing touchdowns" is a red flag at the quarterback position, although Willis is partially excused for a simple lack of opportunity. He has tremendous physical tools, listed at 6-foot-1 and 219 pounds. Willis has real explosiveness and physicality as a runner and he puts a reasonable amount of power behind his throws. What will make or break Willis in Green Bay (and at the NFL level in general) is consistency. He will need to sharpen his decision-making and avoid crippling blunders.

The Packers get a legitimate dual-threat playmaker behind Jordan Love, which is just a no-brainer under the circumstances. A seventh-round pick is nothing if Willis can adequately spell Love for a couple years. Willis has plenty to prove, but it sure feels as though Clifford and Pratt are proven — proven to be inadequate as QB2, that is.

There's a chance the Packers keep Clifford or Pratt around as a developmental side project, but Willis is now the main focus behind Love at the position.

For Tennessee, this is purely about squeezing value out of Willis' contract before it expires. Levis is cemented as the starter and Rudolph qualifies as one of the best backups in the NFL, so there was simply no path forward for Willis. It's not the ideal conclusion to the Willis pick, but all the same, this was a necessary move for the Titans.

Packers grade: B+
Titans grade: B