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    Why Malik Willis Was Traded From the Titans to the Green Bay Packers

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    Malik Willis will start at quarterback for the Green Bay Packers against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, giving him a chance to compete against the team that drafted him.

    Willis has been quarterback with the Packers for just 27 days after the Titans traded him to Green Bay for a 2025 seventh-round pick on Aug. 26, just before the roster was cut.

    The Titans’ 2022 third-round pick out of Liberty was forced to step in quickly after Jordan Love was injured in Week 1. Willis led the Packers to a win over the Indianapolis Colts last week and is now set to face the Titans in Nashville.

    Last week, Willis had by far his best game as a pro, completing 12 of 14 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 41 yards against Indianapolis.

    Why did the Titans trade Willis less than four weeks ago?

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    RESPECT: As Green Bay Packers wait for Jordan Love, Malik Willis waves off Tennessee Titans subplot

    Mason Rudolph, a veteran quarterback with a track record of solid play when he stepped in for a spot start in Pittsburgh, was signed by the Titans during the offseason. Rudolph, who has an 8-4-1 record in 13 career starts, and Willis battled for the No. 2 quarterback position behind Will Levis during training camp, with the Oklahoma State alumnus winning the battle despite a solid camp from Willis.

    Rather than retain three quarterbacks, as the Titans did last season, they opted to trade Willis to Green Bay for the late Day 3 pick in the 2025 draft.

    “I think Malik deserved the opportunity to be the backup, whether it was here or somewhere else,” Titans GM Ran Carthon said two days after the trade. “He’s fought his butt off when he’s been here and done everything we’ve asked him to do.”

    The Packers cut Sean Clifford (he re-signed to the practice squad and has been promoted to the main roster to replace Willis in Sunday’s game), leaving Willis as the lone backup behind starting forward Love.

    When Love suffered a knee injury on the Packers’ final drive of Week 1 against the Eagles in Brazil, Willis filled in for the final few snaps and then started for the Week 2 win against the Colts.

    It’s complicated.

    When Ryan Tannehill injured his ankle in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens in London last October, Willis stepped in to finish the game. At the time, Will Levis was listed as the No. 3 quarterback for the first six games of 2023, with Willis operating as a backup behind Tannehill.

    But Levis started the next game two weeks later, after the week off, and the Titans decided to flip the two on the depth chart.

    The Titans had planned to play both Levis and Willis in the Falcons game, but Willis fumbled a snap on the first drive that came in after Levis had started. Levis threw four touchdown passes in the victory. When Tannehill healed, Levis was QB1 and Tannehill served as the top backup with Willis as the No. 3 QB.

    • 2022: 31 of 61 for 276 passing yards and zero touchdowns with 3 interceptions in 8 games (3 starts); 123 rushing yards and one rushing TD
    • 2023: 4 of 5 for 74 passing yards and 0 touchdowns with 0 interceptions in 3 games
    • 2024: 12 of 14 for 122 passing yards and 1 touchdown; 6 carries for 41 rushing yards in Packers’ win over Indianapolis

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