Former Titans QB Malik Willis has his best game in his return as a Green Bay Packer

The Tennessee Titans will not know who they will get in exchange for Malik Willis until April 26, 2025.

That's seven months until they have the opportunity to select the seventh-round draft pick they received in a late August trade from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for Willis.

It took Willis less than a month to make it clear to the Titans that the trade could be one-sided.

The former Titans backup quarterback, selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, returned to Nashville on Sunday in green, gold and white – and full of confidence – in his team's 30-14 victory at Nissan Stadium.

A victory fueled by a quarterback the Titans didn't want, Willis, and a former Titans offensive coordinator, Matt LaFleur, in 2018.

“Malik is a very capable quarterback,” said Brian Callahan, the Titans' new coach. “You could see his progress throughout training camp.”

Are there emotions about Malik Willis' return? “Not really”

Some 67,322 witnesses, many wearing the same colors as Willis, saw the 25-year-old Georgia native sacrifice an arm and both legs in his second consecutive start in place of injured starter Jordan Love.

They watched him double his career touchdown numbers in both the passing and running games while Love waited for his left knee to feel better. They watched him convert on 13 of his 19 pass attempts and set a personal best with 202 yards. They watched him complete two 30-yard passes — as many as he had in 10 career games with the Titans — during the Packers' opening drive that ended with Willis lying on his back in the end zone after a 5-yard touchdown run.

He scored a career-high 73 yards on the ground and his second career rushing touchdown to top it all off.

Did Willis have any feelings about entering the field as a guest?

“Not really,” he said.

How about leaving the field after the game?

“Who should I give my towel and my little hat to?” Willis said of his thoughts at the time. “I know they went a long way to support us.”

Matt LaFleur on Malik Willis: “You don’t understand”

Willis has also come a long way: within two weeks he went from being a substitute in Nashville to a regular in Green Bay.

“I can't put into words what he's done in such a short period of time,” LaFleur said. “People can't comprehend it. I promise you don't understand it. I think you think you understand it, but you don't understand it.”

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“What he has achieved is…”

LaFleur paused to catch his breath.

“I have never experienced anything like this before. So hats off to him.”

A faulty fire alarm interrupted LaFleur.

“They told me the city would burn if we came here and won the game,” he said.

Willis said he wasn't mad that the Titans traded him.

“I think I got paid the whole time I was there,” he said earlier this week. “I'm more than grateful for the opportunities I was given. They put me in this league. They took a chance on me.”

And apparently some subtle attacks on him.

“He made some big throws that, like I said, every NFL quarterback should be able to make,” Callahan said. “He did a good job. We didn't do a good enough job.”

Malik Willis: “You have to be ready”

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: How did Brian and Bill Callahan end up coaching together? They started with hockey and table tennis.

Willis said he was in contact with “a lot of these guys” but vowed that would not be the case in the days leading up to the game.

“Not this week,” he said.

After the game, however, he was talking to “those guys” again.

MORE: Why Malik Willis was traded from the Titans to the Green Bay Packers last month

He stopped to make a little small talk and to hug Titans quarterback Will Levis – the old buddy his new buddies had sacked eight times – linebacker Jack Gibbens and then a few others.

What Willis' immediate and long-term future holds remains to be seen.

“I have to work hard every day to take my next opportunity. I think that's what I've tried to do over the last two weeks,” he said. “Above all, keep working hard and know that you never know when an opportunity will come along.”

“You have to be ready.”

Just like last week in a win against the Indianapolis Colts. Just like this week in a win against the Titans.

Paul Skrbina is a sports reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. You can reach him at [email protected] and on the X Platform (formerly known as Twitter). @paulskrbina. Follow his work here.

Former Titans QB Malik Willis has his best game in his return as a Green Bay Packer

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Are there emotions about Malik Willis' return? “Not really”

Matt LaFleur on Malik Willis: “You don’t understand”

Malik Willis: “You have to be ready”

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