The Cincinnati Bengals aren't leaving any stone unturned to keep theri 2025 season on track after Joe Burrow went down in Week 2 with a potentially season-ending turf toe injury.
Burrow's surgery and recovery time mean he'll be out a minimum of three months. One would assume head coach Zac Taylor wouldn't have any qualms about handing the reins to backup quarterback Jake Browning, especially since he led a game-winning drive against the Jaguars on Sunday and played so well in relief of Burrow in 2023.
Then again, Browning is only one play away from the Bengals' QB situation being a full-blown waking nightmare. Hence why this juicy bit of news we're about to dive into here is most noteworthy.
Packers reportedly rejected Bengals' interest in QB Malik Willis
In the midst of ESPN's Adam Schefter's latest intel on Cincinnati placing calls to free-agent quarterbacks, reliable Packer Report insider Easton Butler reported that the Bengals "also called about Malik Willis."
After a rocky start to his NFL career in Tennessee, Willis exploded onto the scene last season for the Green Bay Packers. He won both starts in relief of an injured Jordan Love, completing 25 of 33 passes for 324 yards, two TDs, no picks, and ran for 114 yards on 12 carries with another TD.
Matt LaFleur deserves a lot of credit for scheming to Willis' strengths and capitalizing on his dual-threat playmaking ability. Whenever Willis was trusted to make plays with his arm, though, he more than delivered and looked like a polished, cerebral field general.
Browning is an underrated athlete, but obviously nowhere near the dynamic ball-carrier Willis is. The Bengals toyed with a more run-centric QB in camp and the preseason by way of Desmond Ridder's brief stint with the team. Nobody with a brain thought Ridder was beating Browning out for the Burrow backup job.
There's approximately a zero point zero percent chance the Packers were going to let Willis loose given the promise he showed in 2024. Love was banged up throughout the year, and Green Bay is off to a roaring 2-0 start. Their front office probably laughed during or after the Bengals placed the call.
Not that Willis' arrival would've bred some QB controversy with Browning. The latter has been in Cincinnati's system for years now, and Willis would be drinking through a fire hose trying to catch up on the playbook. Nevertheless, the Bengals could put a package of plays in for him, actually evolve their rushing attack a bit to open up more lanes for Chase Brown and make the offense more balanced.
It's more of a pipe dream to think about Malik Willis in a Bengals uniform than anything else. On the heels of Daniel Jones' hot start as the Colts' starting signal-caller, perhaps Duke Tobin would have better luck getting on the horn with Indy GM Chris Ballard to see if Anthony Richardson is for sale.