Why Malik Willis was traded from the Titans to the Green Bay Packers

Malik Willis will start at quarterback in the Green Bay Packers' game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, giving him the chance to face the team that drafted him.

Willis has only been the Packers' quarterback for 27 days after the Titans traded him to the Green Bay Packers on August 26 in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick in advance of the roster reduction.

The Titans' 2022 third-round pick from Liberty had 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 will now play against the Titans in Nashville.

Last week was by far Willis' best game as a professional: He completed 12 of 14 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown and ran for 41 yards against Indianapolis.

So why did the Titans trade Willis less than four weeks ago?

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Mason Rudolph, a veteran quarterback with a track record of solid performance when filling in as a backup in Pittsburgh, was signed by the Titans in the offseason. Rudolph, who has an 8-4-1 record in 13 career starts, and Willis battled during training camp for the No. 2 quarterback job behind Will Levis, and the Oklahoma State graduate won the battle despite a solid training camp from Willis.

Instead of keeping three quarterbacks like the Titans did last season, they decided to trade Willis to Green Bay for the late pick on the third day of the 2025 draft.

“I think Malik has earned the chance to be the backup, whether it's here or somewhere else,” Titans GM Ran Carthon said two days after the trade. “He's worked his ass off here and done everything we've asked of him.”

The Packers released Sean Clifford (he was re-signed to the practice squad and promoted to the main roster to replace Willis in Sunday's game), leaving Willis as the only backup behind starter Love.

When Love suffered a sprained knee on the Packers' final drive in Week 1 against the Eagles in Brazil, Willis stepped in for the final few snaps and then was the starter in the Packers' Week 2 win over the Colts.

It's complicated.

When Ryan Tannehill injured his ankle in a 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 active as the backup behind Tannehill.

However, Levis started the next game two weeks later following the off week after the Titans decided to swap the two in the rankings.

The Titans had planned to use both Levis and Willis in the game against the Falcons, but Willis dropped a snap on the first drive after Levis started. Levis threw four touchdown passes in the win. When Tannehill healed, Levis was QB1 and Tannehill served as the best 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 runs for 41 rushing yards in the Packers' win over Indianapolis

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