Packers Called About Malik Willis Trade Following Major QB Injury
Posted September 16, 2025
The Green Bay Packers have received a trade call about the potential availability of backup quarterback Malik Willis heading into the start of Week 3.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cincinnati Bengals have “been calling around to other free-agent quarterbacks” about possibly signing one of them to bolster their roster after they lost Joe Burrow to a toe injury that will sideline him for the next three months.
The Bengals’ search for an additional quarterback has also prompted them to call the Packers about a potential trade for Willis, according to Packer Report’s Easton Butler.
Packers Seem Highly Unlikely to Trade Malik Willis
Butler did not elaborate on the Bengals’ interest in Willis, but it is unlikely the Packers would engage in a serious dialogue about trading their impressive backup signal-caller unless Cincinnati were to make them a hard-to-refuse trade offer.
Willis has earned the confidence of the Packers’ coaching staff in the 13 months since the team acquired him from the Tennessee Titans for a 2025 seventh-round pick. He made two spot starts in place of the injured Jordan Love early last season, completing 75.8% of his passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Packers to two wins.
That’s quality, proven value within Matt LaFleur’s offensive system, which is hard to just throw away after a 2-0 start and with expectations to compete for a Super Bowl.
Even still, the Bengals could talk the Packers into a trade with a strong enough offer.
The Bengals would likely need to offer a Day 2 selection as compensation to even get the Packers to the negotiating table, but the Packers might insist on more, given his value to their team as a trusted safety-net quarterback behind Love.
If the Bengals put up a second-rounder, though, the Packers would have a difficult time saying no — especially after giving up two future first-rounders to land Micah Parsons.
Packers Have Another QB to Promote, If Trade Happens
Right now, there is no indication that the Packers are having any real discussions with the Bengals about a trade involving Willis. After all, a phone call is not a negotiation.
If the Bengals overpay for Willis in a desperate attempt not to squander their 2-0 start, though, the Packers would have another quarterback in position to promote to their active roster as the new No. 2 behind Love: Clayton Tune, a 2023 fifth-round pick.
The Packers signed Tune to their practice squad as their de facto No. 3 quarterback after training camp, choosing the former Arizona Cardinals backup over quarterbacks Sean Clifford and Taylor Elgersma — both of whom vied for the role in the preseason.
While he hasn’t spent long with the team, it is possible the Packers could have warmed to the idea of trading away Willis if Tune has wowed them over his first few weeks.
The Packers did change to Willis rather suddenly before the start of the 2024 season. If they trust their evaluations and think they have something in Tune, perhaps they would be willing to do it again and deal off Willis to the Bengals for an over-the-top return.
NFL RUMORS: Kirk Cousins Now a Viable Option for Bengals After Joe Burrow’s Toe Injury
The Minnesota Vikings chose signing Carson Wentz over attempting to trade for Kirk Cousins ahead of the regular season, which may prove a mistake following an injury to J.J. McCarthy in Week 2.
McCarthy is likely to miss between two and four weeks after severely spraining his ankle against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, September 14, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. Cousins knows head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense and several of the players in the huddle, though he would have cost the Vikings an asset in a deal.
The team would also have likely had to pay a significant portion of Cousins’ $27.5 million base salary in 2025 at the age of 37 and coming off injuries in back-to-back seasons, all of which likely contributed to Minnesota’s choice to ink the younger and less expensive Wentz instead.
However, Wentz must now take the reins of the offense next weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals, while undrafted rookie Max Brosmer elevates into the QB2 role and the Vikings likely go on the hunt for a veteran signal-caller to add to the mix for at least as long as McCarthy is out.
Cousins is no longer as viable an option for Minnesota after the franchise brought in Wentz, but he could make sense for their Week 3 competitors. Cincinnati lost star quarterback Joe Burrow for up to three months following a toe injury Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars that will require surgery.
The Bengals have one of the NFL’s more reliable backup options in Jake Browning, though he threw three interceptions in Week 2 as Cincinnati narrowly escaped a home loss to the visiting Jaguars.
Bengals so Reliant on QB Position to Carry Team, They May Consider Expensive Trade for Kirk Cousins
The Bengals have invested massively in their offense, paying Burrow and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins north of $550 million combined on those three players’ most recent contract extensions.
Because of that, Cincinnati doesn’t have an overly impressive offensive line or defense, which has kept the team’s success teetering on the edge of a knife over the last several years. The Bengals rely so heavily on the offense to carry the team and so heavily on Burrow to carry the offense; however, by not protecting Burrow appropriately, the organization also constantly risks everything falling apart.
That burden now falls to Browning who has appeared in 13 career games, starting seven of them (4-3). He boasts a career completion percentage of nearly 70% and has tallied 2,177 passing yards, 14 TDs and 10 INTs over his three years in Cincinnati. A total of 241 of those yards, as well as two TDs and three INTs, came against Jacksonville in Week 2.
Browning actually began his career with the Vikings in 2019 as an undrafted rookie.
Bengals Can Afford Trade for Kirk Cousins Under Right Circumstances
Cousins is a far more accomplished and experienced player than Browning. The question is whether the Bengals want to spend what it would require to trade for him.
The answer could be yes, simply given how much Cincinnati leans on the QB position and how quickly its season might crumble if Browning struggles or suffers an injury of his own.
Cousins has a no-trade clause but would likely be willing to waive it for a chance to play with Chase and Higgins in a high-powered offense that needs the QB to throw the ball effectively and at high-volume to even stay in games, let alone win them.
The Bengals currently have nearly $13 million in cap space and could probably work out a deal with the Falcons to take on only so much of Cousins’ 2025 salary that it fits under that number.
