Playing quarterback in the NFL is hard, and Malik Willis got a fresh reminder of that in his Miami Dolphins debut against the Raiders in Week 1.
The box score was uneven: Willis finished 15 of 27 passing, threw an interception, and took five sacks. But the performance also gave the Dolphins plenty to work with, which matters for a team that spent the offseason tearing down an expensive roster and starting over under general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley.
Miami handed the keys to Willis for a reason, and some of that showed up right away. Even in a game that never fully settled in his favor, he flashed more top-end ability than Miami has had at quarterback in quite some time. The challenge now is turning those glimpses into something steadier as the season goes on.
The first half was the best stretch of his day. Willis went 9 of 13 for 119 yards before halftime, and a pair of chunk plays to rookie receiver Caleb Douglas accounted for much of that production. He carried that momentum into the third quarter, when he scored Miami’s only touchdown of the game on a 14-yard scramble just a few minutes after halftime.
After that, the game tilted sharply the other way. Willis started holding the ball too long and trying to compensate for a rough second half from the offensive line. The late collapse didn’t erase the early positives, though, and there were still reasons for Dolphins fans to feel encouraged.
His arm talent stands out immediately. He can drive the ball down the field without needing everything to be perfect around him, and he can still deliver a catchable throw even when the pocket isn’t clean or his feet aren’t fully set. That kind of ability gives Miami a different look.
His legs may be even more valuable. Willis showed several times against Las Vegas that he can do real damage as a runner, and he probably didn’t use that tool enough once protection started to break down.
He tried to hang in the pocket and find receivers, which is admirable, but Miami doesn’t have the same level of talent around him that he had while he was in Green Bay. In this offense, taking yards on the ground will often be the smarter play until everyone else gets more comfortable.
Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik also didn’t do Willis many favors. De'Von Achane cannot finish a game healthy with just 15 touches, no matter the score or game flow. Miami’s run game is the clearest path to consistent offensive production this season, and it should also ease some of the pressure Willis clearly felt late in his debut.
The Dolphins will face the San Francisco 49ers next week, and that matchup will offer the first real look at how Willis responds after an offense that sputtered in Week 1.
In Other News...
Dolphins Keep Making Roster Moves For A Bigger 2026 Plan
The Dolphins have been busy carving out breathing room on the books, with a series of salary cap conversions involving Zach Sieler, Greg Dulcich, Austin Jackson and JuJu Brents creating roughly $2.5 million in extra space. Miami now sits at about $8.8 million in cap room, a modest cushion on paper but one that comes with the weight of more than $180 million in dead cap already sitting on the ledger, including Tua Tagovailoas $55 million figure.
Tyrel Dodsons release added another layer to the picture, saving about $3 million and reinforcing that every move right now is being made with both the roster and the future in mind. General manager Jon-Eric Sullivan pointed to financial and roster considerations in the decision, which fits a broader approach that looks less like a short-term patch job and more like a team trying to keep its options open well beyond this season. [Read more 🡒]
Fitzpatrick Just Doubled Down On A Brutal Dolphins Warning
Ryan Fitzpatrick has never been shy about his opinions, and he brought the same bluntness back to the Dolphins this week. The former Miami quarterback, now an Amazon Prime analyst, stood by the preseason warning he made about the 2026 season, pointing to a roster he believes still has major hurdles in front of it. He framed the discussion around the kind of difficult year that can snowball early, especially when a team is trying to navigate a schedule that offers little room for error.
Fitzpatrick drew a line back to the 2019 Dolphins, a group that opened 0-7 before finding enough answers to win five games, and he used that season as a reminder that even a rocky start does not always define the finish. But he also noted the burden of dead cap space left behind by former core players, which only adds to the challenge ahead. For all the doom in his outlook, Fitzpatrick still left a sliver of optimism, hoping the coaches and players can keep the season from ever reaching the bleak outcome he floated. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Are Catching A 49ers Team Far From Full Strength
The 49ers are still sorting through the fallout from their season opener, and the injury list has already started to reshape the depth chart. Tight end Jake Tonges landed on injured reserve after hurting his knee in the opener, while San Francisco also added wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge to the active roster and brought tight end Jack Stoll onto the practice squad as it tries to keep enough bodies available at key spots.
For Miami, that matters because the Dolphins are catching a San Francisco team that is already dealing with more than one hole before the matchup fully gets into gear. Rookie wideout DeZhaun Stribling was also placed on injured reserve with a deltoid sprain, joining Ricky Pearsall and Alfred Collins among the names the 49ers are trying to work around, leaving the roster thinner and the margin for error smaller. [Read more 🡒]