It didn’t take long for the Arizona Cardinals to be linked to free-agent-to-be quarterback Malik Willis.
Before the season even ended, the idea was already being floated. Now in the offseason, the noise has only increased, especially after NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal pegged Willis as the top free agent in 2026.
There’s no denying the Cardinals need an answer when it comes to their quarterback question.
As far as Willis being the solution and serving as the next reclamation quarterback success story in the league? It’s up for debate.
A look at the pros and cons of a potential Willis-Cardinals pairing:
Malik Willis pros
Built-in connections
If there’s one thing Willis has going for him in Arizona, it’s the familiarity factor.
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On top of operating under Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur’s brother Matt in Green Bay the past two seasons, Willis also worked with Nathaniel Hackett, who now takes over as Arizona’s offensive coordinator, last year. Hackett served as a defensive analyst for Green Bay in 2025.
He’s likely got a very good idea on how Mike LaFleur’s offense will operate given his stint in Green Bay.
There’s also a tie to general manager Monti Ossenfort from their time together in Tennessee. Ossenfort, who was the Titans’ director of player personnel, was a part of the front office that drafted Willis in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
“I don’t want to get into evaluations of specific players. Malik did a great job when he went in there for Green Bay this year,” Ossenfort told reporters at the NFL Draft Combine on Tuesday. “I was with Malik for a short time there in Tennessee. He had a great college career coming out.
“He’s one of the quarterbacks that’s available and we’ll evaluate all our options, whether it’s free agency, the draft … we’ll be prepared to do what’s best for the team.”
Coming off a career stretch
There’s a reason why Willis is Rosenthal’s top-ranked free agent this season.
After a rough start to his NFL career in Tennessee, Willis turned things around in Green Bay.
Across 11 games played (three starts) from 2024-25, Willis completed 78.7% of his throws for 972 yards and six touchdowns to no interceptions. He ran for another 261 yards and three scores on 42 carries.
His passing numbers are starkly different than the 350 yards and three picks on 53% passing he put up in the 11 games (three starts) played with the Titans from 2022-23.
But it was last year’s finish to the regular season that really put Willis on the map as the top quarterback option this free agency.
Taking over for an injured Jordan Love in the middle of a Week 16 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears, Willis completed all but two of his 11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. He chipped in another 44 yards on six carries.
Starting in place of Love the following week, Willis completed 85.7% of his throws for 288 yards and a score in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He added another two touchdowns and 60 yards on the ground.
The experience is there
On top of the production spike Willis has seen the past two years, he’s also gained plenty of experience in his four NFL seasons.
Any incoming rookie quarterback doesn’t have the luxury of having NFL reps banked. That kind of inexperience typically doesn’t translate to a ton of success right away.
Ossenfort likely doesn’t have much more time to wait for results, either, after posting a 15-36 mark in his three seasons on the job. Any cushion in the rebuild is officially gone following the firing of former head coach Jonathan Gannon.
Malik Willis cons
Small sample size
As impressive as Willis has been in separate stretches for Green Bay the past two seasons, the sample size remains smaller than one would like when considering a veteran as the next franchise quarterback.
Willis turned in two very different 11-game stints with two franchises. What is the next 11 going to bring with a third, especially when the Cardinals are closer to the 2022-23 Titans than the 2024-25 Packers?
The environment around Willis is going to play a factor in just how much success he has.
The price tag
A team landing on a rookie quarterback as its next franchise guy helps greatly in the cap-saving department thanks to the scale of rookie contracts.
And as we’ve already covered, Willis is far from a rookie.
Speaking with Rosenthal at the NFL Draft Combine, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport could see Willis signing a contract worth between $30 million to $35 million a year.
Given the cap hit Arizona could potentially be incurring with a release of Murray, can they really afford to pour more money at the position when other spots on the roster need love?
Potential missed opportunities
On top of spending more on a veteran quarterback, Arizona would also pull itself out of the signal-caller sweepstakes for the foreseeable future unless things really go haywire.
That means missing out on high-level quarterback prospects in the NFL Draft who could have the potential to be franchise signal callers on cheap deals.
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