The NFL is all about the “hot take” or the “grade” immediately after some type of transaction, especially trades. This past week, the Tennessee Titans traded third-year quarterback Malik Willis to the Green Bay Packers for a seventh-round pick in the 2025 draft.
While it’s impossible to predict how these moves will eventually impact a team, that doesn’t stop outlets from weighing in. What are people saying? ESPN writer Seth Walder gives the Titans a “B” for the trade.
“They benched him in favor of Joshua Dobbs at the end of 2022 despite Dobbs having been on the team for less than two weeks,” Walder writes. “Though Willis initially was the Titans’ backup in 2023, it didn’t take long after Ryan Tannehill suffered an injury for the team to turn to second-round pick Will Levis. Willis lost out to Mason Rudolph as the backup to Levis. Each of those is a red flag. … With Tennessee preferring Rudolph, this is a situation where it’s better for the Titans to get something rather than nothing.”
For the Titans, any return for a player that they were going to release is a positive. Willis likely would not have made it through the waiver process, giving the team zero compensation.
While the move does impact the team in the short term, leaving them with only two quarterbacks on the roster (including the practice squad), that is a small price to pay to open a roster spot for someone who could possibly contribute immediately. In the long term, it gives the team some additional draft capital, something that is always valuable during the offseason. All things considered, a “B” is a fair grade at this point, but the real grade won’t be known for some time.
