It’s rare to see a late-minute trade being so effective like what the Green Bay Packers did by acquiring quarterback Malik Willis from the Tennessee Titans right before final roster cuts in late August.

The Packers gave up only a seventh-round pick, and Willis became an integral part of what the team accomplished in 2024, starting two games (wins over the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans) and making five other appearances, including extended ones against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears.

He finished the season with impressive numbers, completing 74.1% of his passes, with 10.2 yards per attempt, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions—a 124.8 passer rating. He had two big-time throws and only one turnover-worthy play.

That performance brings interesting follow-up questions, because Malik Willis is still under his rookie deal for 2025. A third-round pick in 2022, the quarterback is slated to make $1.4 million next season, the final of his first NFL contract.

The most likely path for the Packers is to simply retain Willis as Jordan Love’s backup. He will have a full offseason to integrate himself in Matt LaFleur’s offense, and 2024 showed how important it is to have a solid backup plan at the most important position in football.

But most NFL players, and all backups, have a price tag. If someone calls with a great offer, general manager Brian Gutekunst would have to consider it.

It’s just how the franchise operates. Under Ron Wolf, the Packers drafted and then traded away quarterbacks like Ty Detmer, Mark Brunell, Matt Hasselbeck, and Aaron Brooks.

But how much would be enough? And how much could the Packers realistically expect in return?

Track record of QB trades

Recently, the best-case scenario for the Packers would be doing what the Philadelphia Eagles did in 2016. After Teddy Bridgewater got hurt, the Minnesota Vikings sent a first- and a future fourth-round pick for Sam Bradford. However, Bradford was expected to start for the Eagles, and the team had just drafted Carson Wentz with the second overall pick.

It’s completely unrealistic to expect anything close to it for Malik Willis, because he is not slated to be the starter in Green Bay, diminishing the team’s leverage.

The best realistic scenario is Jimmy Garoppolo, whom the San Francisco 49ers acquired from the New England Patriots for a second-round pick. At that point, Garoppolo had started only two games and it was executed during the final year of his rookie deal, ahead of the trade deadline.

More recently, teams were able to acquire bridge quarterbacks, short-term starters, or developmental quarterbacks for much less. Joe Flacco went from the Baltimore Ravens to the Denver Broncos for a fourth-rounder, and the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears for a conditional sixth-rounder.

In 2023, Josh Dobbs was traded twice—from the Cleveland Browns to the Arizona Cardinals for a swap of fifth- and seventh-round picks, and from the Cardinals to the Minnesota Vikings during the season for a swap of sixth- and seventh-round picks.

Malik Willis’ value

Willis had a rough situation and didn’t perform at a high level for the Tennessee Titans, who had Will Levis and Mason Rudolph over him on the depth chart. But with the Packers, the quarterback showed he can be a solid and dynamic player under the right circumstances.

While some teams could potentially have solid pre-draft grades on him, Willis has never been a full-time starter, and did what he did with the Packers in a small sample size and with a specific gameplan that could be hard to replicate for a full season.

As a bridge quarterback or as an option to compete for a starting job, Malik Willis would probably generate interest at a mid-level compensation. A fourth-round pick is realistic, maybe a third. Expecting a second-round pick is probably too much, unless some desperate team had a high grade on Malik Willis and is willing to give him another chance.

Is it worth it?

If a third- or fourth-round pick is on the table, the Packers would have to evaluate if that’s enough. Malik showed in 2024 how valuable he can be to the team as a backup quarterback, and Green Bay doesn’t have other alternatives to be behind Jordan Love.

The quarterback 3 is Sean Clifford, an exclusive-rights free agent who will most likely be back next season. He was a fifth-round pick in 2023, but his underwhelming level of play was one of the reasons why the Packers ultimately acquired Willis.

The Packers could sign a developmental free agent like Justin Fields, Trey Lance, or Zach Wilson, but as veterans they might make more than Willis, probably without the same level of production and positive locker room impact. The draft is an option, but it didn’t work out with Clifford and last year’s seventh-round pick Michael Pratt.

Moreover, Malik Willis will be a free agent in 2026. If he signs elsewhere and depending on how active the Packers would be in unrestricted free agency, a compensatory pick could be in play for 2027.

There are obvious advantages and drawbacks to trading a player for draft picks. But in Malik Willis’ case, it sounds like the value that would make sense for the Packers to lose what they’ve got is just unrealistic for other teams to pay.