MIAMI, March 12 (UPI) -- Malik Willis' voice is suede soft and nearly library low, but steady. He scours his mind for the right words, but isn't heavy handed in using vocal conviction as a cloak of confidence.
It's a poise and delivery the Miami Dolphins yearned for during their quarterback search. It's also one of the reasons they signed Willis to a 3-year, $67.5 million contract in free agency the same month they parted ways with former starter Tua Tagovailoa.
Despite a brief resume of just six career starts and 155 pass attempts over four years, new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley are more familiar with Willis than most NFL braintrusts.
They observed the former third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft over the last two seasons while working on the Green Bay Packers staff and were convicted enough about his attributes to bring him to Miami Gardens, Fla., after they were hired as the Dolphins' respective general manager and head coach.
"There are a lot of great reasons to be here," Willis said Thursday at his introductory news conference. "Those two guys are the biggest ones, in my opinion as far as what I see in this organization and this team becoming.
