As new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan plots the Dolphins’ strategy at quarterback, here’s what we’re hearing:
▪ There is indeed Dolphins interest in Packers free agent quarterback Malik Willis, but only at a certain unknown price point, according to two sources.
Sullivan was impressed enough by Willis during his two years in Green Bay that he’s expected to call his representation when free agency begins next Monday.
But Miami isn’t likely to get involved in a bidding war for several reasons, including their very limited room under the salary cap (less than $1 million as of midday Tuesday) and their desire to get their cap in order.
▪ Miami has interest in adding a veteran quarterback as competition for Quinn Ewers. But the Dolphins would need to know that any such veteran would be a good sport about being a No. 2 if that’s how it plays out.
Unlike the Chris Grier/Brian Flores regime in 2019, my understanding is the team does not plan to sign an older veteran with the intention of just handing him the starting job. A chance to compete? Yes. But nobody is being handed a job, as Ryan Fitzpatrick was in 2019.
With most of the veteran quarterbacks in Miami’s very modest price range, there’s a decent to good chance that Ewers would beat them out.
One name on Miami’s radar, according to a source, is unrestricted free agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, 34.
One league source said there’s Dolphins’ respect for 49ers backup Mac Jones. But a Dolphins trade for Jones would be surprising because Sullivan views draft picks as precious and I have a hard time seeing him giving up a second-day pick for Jones. (That’s just my opinion, not a report.)
Also, the 49ers have no incentive to take a late-round pick for a veteran who’s cheap ($3.25 million next season) and reliable behind starter Brock Purdy.
(I presume there are other veteran quarterbacks on Miami’s radar besides Willis and Garoppolo, but I’m not privy to who they are.)
At the recent NFL Combine, the Palm Beach Post’s Joe Schad asked Sullivan how he balances signing a 30-to-34 year old veteran quarterback who might lead the team to a few wins and be helpful in the quarterback room but is not the long-term answer.
“You don’t make decisions in a vacuum,” Sullivan said. “It’s always case by case. What is the financial component? If this guy doesn’t win the job, what kind of teammate is he going to be? Is he going to be a good sounding board? A coach in the room?
“We could have Quinn, we could have a free agent. We’re going to draft one, we could draft two. It’s my job to make it as competitive as possible.”
▪ The team genuinely likes Quinn and sees upside, sources reiterated.
“What I knew of Quinn coming out was the intangibles – gritty, tough, very good leader,” Sullivan said. “Teammates respond to him. Watching him last year, the last few weeks, I thought the ball was coming out of his hands better than what I saw at Texas, which would make sense because he was banged up in Texas.
“For us, the ball was coming out crisp, clean, tight spiral, a little more juice on it. I like what he did. He’s a little like Tua [Tagovailoa] in the sense he’s accurate. Very good short to intermediate thrower. Quinn would be the first to tell you there are a couple decisions he wishes he had back, but I thought he did a nice job in the limited window he had. It gives you excitement moving forward about what potentially he could be.”
▪ A cut with a post-June 1 designation is the most likely outcome for Tagovailoa, but the team continues to prefer a trade if possible.
Veteran QBs available
A look at the veteran quarterbacks set to become unrestricted free agents next week, in descending order of their 2025 salary:
▪ Colts’ Daniel Jones ($14 million salary this season): Colts are placing the transition tag on him, it was widely reported Tuesday. He sustained a torn Achilles last November and might not be ready for the start of the season.
▪ Steelers’ Aaron Rogers ($13.6 million): Could opt to return to Pittsburgh, where he has enjoyed playing, or retire, or potentially go to Minnesota if the Vikings decide to pursue.
▪ Giants’ Russell Wilson ($10.5 million): No longer starter quality but would be a serviceable backup and mentor.
▪ Washington’s Marcus Mariota ($8 million): Had 10 touchdowns, 7 interceptions and a 2-6 record filling in for Jayden Daniels last season. That price point would seem too high for Miami.
▪ Dolphins’ Zach Wilson ($6 million). Let’s move along here…
▪ Jets’ Tyrod Taylor ($6 million). More of a backup than a bridge quarterback, at this point. Which would make him a decent option for Miami. After Justin Fields was benched, he went 1-3 as a Jets starter, with five touchdowns and five interceptions.
▪ Bengals’ Joe Flacco ($4.2 million): Had 13 TDs, four picks and a 91 rating after Cincinnati acquired him from Cleveland. Went 1-5 as Bengals starter before Joe Burrow’s return. Might be best suited to be a backup on a contender.
▪ Raiders’ Kenny Pickett ($3.5 million): Supremely mediocre, with 16 career TDs, 15 INTs and a 78.9 rating.
▪ Rams’ Garoppolo ($3 million): He didn’t throw a pass last season as Matthew Stafford’s backup.
He made one start for the Rams in 2024 and went 27 for 41 for 334 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 30-25 Week 18 loss to Seattle.
He went 3-3 as a starter for the Raiders in 2023, with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions and 1205 passing yards on 65.1 percent accuracy.
Over his 12-year career (including six seasons with the 49ers), he has a 97.6 passer rating with 96 touchdown passes and 52 interceptions.
▪ Bills’ Mitchell Trubisky ($2.6 million): A stopgap bridge starter at best. Has gone 31-28 as a starter, with 74 TDs, 48 INTs and an 86 rating.
He would be an adequate backup here, likely not good enough to beat out Quinn (if Willis doesn’t end up in Miami) but somewhat serviceable if Quinn is injured.
▪ Bears’ Case Keenum ($2.2 million): The 38-year-old hasn’t thrown a pass in a regular season game since 2023.
▪ Chargers’ Trey Lance ($2 million): Only 25, the former third overall pick of the 2021 draft has bounced from San Francisco to Dallas to Los Angeles and has five TDs, four interceptions and a 79.9 rating in 15 appearances and five starts. He has completed just 56.4% of 156 passes.
▪ Minnesota’s Carson Wentz ($1.4 million): Like Tagovailoa, he mysteriously regressed in his prime and was a backup for the Commanders, Rams, Chiefs and Vikings the past four years.
He has 19 TDs, 15 interceptions and an 87 passer rating over those four years, including a 5-9 record in 14 starts (2-3 last season).
▪ Green Bay’s Willis ($1.3 million): Everyone knows the story — the former Titans third-round pick lasted only two years in Tennessee but has played well in limited work for two years with the Packers, completing 70 of 89 for 972 yards, with six TDs and no interceptions and a 2-1 record.
He’s a threat on the ground; Willis has averaged 5.5 yards per carry (74 for 405) in his four-year career.
Arizona, the Jets, Cleveland, Miami and perhaps Atlanta continue to be reported as potential suitors.
▪ Detroit’s Kyle Allen ($1.2 million): Has thrown just three passes the past three years and is 7-12 as a starter with 26 touchdowns, 21 interceptions and an 81.1 passer rating.
▪ Chiefs’ Gardner Minshew ($1.2 million): His health is a question because of a leg injury sustained in Week 16, one week after Patrick Mahomes was lost to a torn ACL.
He finished 2-7 as a Raiders starter in 2024, with nine touchdowns, 10 interceptions and an 81 rating. He went 6 for 13 with an interception is his one year in Kansas City.
▪ Eagles’ Sam Howell ($1 million): He has played for four teams in the past three years and didn’t throw a pass in 2025 after going 5 for 14 for Seattle with an interception in 2024.
He threw an NFC-high 21 interceptions for Washington in 2023, matching his touchdown total in 17 starts.
▪ Former Dolphins Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson: Been there, done that.
▪ FYI No. 1: Cincinnati’s Jake Browning, who had some success filling in for Burrow in 2024 but struggled last season, will be a restricted free agent, with the Bengals controlling his rights.
▪ FYI No. 2: Jameis Winston is under contract to the Giants next season at $3.9 million, with $1.3 million of that guaranteed.
We’ve received questions on Houston’s Davis Mills, but he’s under contract next season. The Texans say they’re not trading CJ Stroud, who hasn’t regained his rookie magic.
▪ FYI No. 3: The Jets might release Justin Fields, who was ineffective as a starter this season and was replaced by Taylor.
Fields — who went 2-7 as a starter and averaged just 139 passing yards per game — is due $20 million next season, with $10 million guaranteed. It’s difficult to see the Jets paying the full $20 million. But he has never proved worthy of being a long-term starter.
FYI No. 4: The Raiders could cut Geno Smith, who battled Tagovailoa for the AFC lead in interceptions before Tagovailoa’s benching.
He’s due to make $26.5 million next season, and $18.5 million of that is guaranteed. His $26.5 million Raiders 2026 cap hit would drop to an $18.5 million dead money hit if he’s released before June 1.
He would be an option for Miami on a low-money deal, but it’s possible a contender with a fragile starter could offer more.
FYI No. 5: The Arizona Cardinals informed Kyler Murray that he will be released in the next week, multiple network insiders reported Tuesday. The Jets and Vikings are among the potential suitors, per ESPN.
With Murray’s tape-studying habits an issue in the past, that wouldn’t necessarily be a fit for the culture Miami wants to establish.
Ross to sell 1 percent
Lin Bin and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross have agreed in principle to a deal (not yet finalized) for the Chinese-American billionaire to buy 1 percent of the Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, the F-1 race and everything that falls under the Dolphins parent company umbrella. The deal is for $125 million, per a source.
That means the Dolphins/stadium etc. was valued at $12.5 billion in the transaction, and Sportico reported that’s a record 1 percent valuation for a publicly known transaction in sports.
Forbes said Bin is worth $18 billion (115th in world). He started his career at Microsoft, where he worked on Internet Explorer, and also was an engineering director at Google and served as vice president of Google China’s Engineering Research Institute. He made a fortune with the Beijing-based multinational technology company Xiaomi, which he founded.
Here’s my Tuesday piece on Dolphins free agent safety options and draft tidbits.
Here’s our look at affordable edge players available in free agency.
Here’s our look at affordable wide receivers available in free agency.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 4:22 PM.
Barry Jackson
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.
