The Tennessee Titans traded quarterback Malik Willis to the Green Bay Packers for a 2025 seventh-round pick.

That’s… not a great return for a QB in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. However, the Titans appear to be going all-in on Will Levis, who they drafted in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

It should have happened then for Willis. He had so much hype before the 2022 NFL Draft before he was taken in the third round. While he never lived up to the hype, he also never really got a fair shot.

Willis appeared in just 11 games during two seasons with the Titans, who were wandering through a quarterback desert. They parted ways with Ryan Tannehill, but never gave Willis the full trust that Levis did. The former Auburn Tiger started just three games in Nashville.

But there is a new opportunity for Willis, who performed well for the Titans in pre-season.

The Packers’ backup quarterback situation was abysmal. Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt competed to replace Jordan Love, who became the highest-paid player in NFL history before the preseason began.

The Packers are a QB factory. They went from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers. Then from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love. Willis won’t replace Love anytime soon, but both Packers quarterbacks are only 25 years old, share a style of play, and fit very well into Matt LaFleur’s offensive scheme.

This trade gives Green Bay more of a fun project than a viable backup. Ironically, all of the veteran backup quarterbacks except Tannehill are already taken. If Clifford or Pratt were to get serious playing time, the Packers’ season would be lost.

If Willis were to play a significant number of snaps, the Packers would still be in a world of hurt. But it would at least be fun, and maybe they could catch lightning in a bottle with a promising prospect who hasn’t had a fair shot in the NFL.

The Titans can’t be blamed for this one either. It’s not like Willis has shown them much. In those 11 games he’s played? Zero touchdowns. Three interceptions. The NFL is a league that relies heavily on results, and those results just aren’t what a quarterback on the roster is.

The Titans will bring Mason Rudolph as their backup behind Levis, which shows how much they believe in Levis this year.

But let’s not kid ourselves. The AFC is stacked. Quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and maybe even Aaron Rodgers will continue to dominate the playoff scene.