Dolphins just paid millions for a mistake Jets fans know too well

The AFC East and gambling on quarterbacks.

Charlie Baduini

Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis / Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images

The 2026 offseason was always going to feature a league-wide game of quarterback musical chairs, and the Miami Dolphins ended up making the first move.

Arguably the most sought-after trigger man on the market, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis, was the first domino to fall. The 2022 third-round pick agreed to terms with Miami on a three-year, $67.5 million contract, likely the highest-paying deal for a QB in free agency this spring.

The New York Jets, if you haven't already heard, are also in the market for a quarterback. Willis wasn't really on the Jets' radar, and it was for several reasons.

New York needs to win now and is looking for a more experienced signal caller to lead their offense in 2026. There could also be some scar tissue from the Jets' most recent quarterback signing.

Malik Willis signing eerily reminiscent of Jets' Justin Fields experiment

Last offseason, the Jets took a gamble on an athletically gifted, high-character, young quarterback, inking former Chicago Bears first-round pick Justin Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract. Almost exactly a year later, New York is trying to figure out which way they would like to get out from under his remaining guaranteed money.

Fields was an abject disaster in 2025, displaying a hyper-conservative play style that had fans questioning if he was scared to throw the football. In nine starts, Fields threw for 1,259 yards, for an average of 139.9 yards per game.

It was the lowest for any starting quarterback with that many starts since... Fields with the Bears in 2022. Go figure.

Now, all this isn't to say Willis will turn out the same way Fields did. There's a much smaller sample size for the former Liberty product, but he certainly impressed over the four appearances in relief of the injured Jordan Love.

Willis completed 30 of 35 pass attempts for 422 yards and three touchdowns, chipping in 22 carries for 123 yards and two rushing touchdowns. With only six career starts under his belt, there's no telling how he'll turn out as the full-time starter in Miami.

But a gamble is a gamble, nonetheless and the fact of the matter is the Dolphins are putting their 2026 season in the hands of Willis, similar to what the Jets did with Fields last year.

We'll see if it pays off.

Charlie Baduini

Charlie Baduini covers the New York Jets as a site expert for The Jet Press and FanSided. He is a sports journalist based in Northern New Jersey with a wide variety of sports reporting experience in print and broadcast journalism. Baduini’s byline can also be seen on Heavy and The Sporting News, where he covers several teams across the NFL and NBA. His work has been featured in Heavy, Athlon Sports, The Sporting News, Yahoo Sports, MSN, and Yardbarker. He also serves as a seasonal intern for ESPN, working as a production assistant for the Heisman Trophy Ceremony every year since 2022. Baduini has been a Jets fan for as long as he can remember, with his family's fandom dating back to the 1960s when his grandfather, Louis, became a season ticket holder. His family has since held on to the tickets to this day. He is an avid fan of the New York Knicks and New York Mets.