FOXBORO - The Patriots won’t be walking into the unknown when they line up against Miami quarterback Malik Willis. If anything, they’ve got an unusual amount of firsthand history with him.
DeMario Douglas knows that better than most. The New England receiver spent four seasons at Liberty from 2019 to 2022, and three of those came with Willis throwing him the ball. On Sunday, for the first time in their careers, Douglas will be on the opposite sideline from his former college quarterback, now the starter for the Dolphins.
Douglas is also one of only three healthy receivers on the Patriots’ 53-man roster for the game, and he plans to exchange jerseys with Willis after it’s over no matter how the night plays out.
Willis has been Miami’s starter in every game this season, and he’ll be trying to spoil things against a Patriots group that includes several people who know his game from earlier stops.
That starts with Mike Vrabel, who drafted Willis in the third round in 2022 while coaching the Tennessee Titans. Vrabel said this week that he’s watched Willis keep moving forward.
"Malik's continued to develop, and that's the thing that I'm proud of him for, and I know that he should be proud of himself to continue to battle and go to Green Bay," Mike Vrabel, who drafted Willis in 2022, said this week. "I try to stay in communication with him, tell him congrats and that I'm happy for him, and then he gets a deal in Miami.
He's very talented. He's got a strong arm, can throw at different platforms.
He's a strong runner. I think he's starting to see things a little quicker, a little clearer, just as he's developed in the NFL."
Kevin Byard has seen Willis up close too, both in practice and in games. Last season, Willis stepped in for the injured Jordan Love and completed 9 of 11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in a 22-16 loss to Byard’s Chicago Bears.
"Really good, talented quarterback," Byard said. "(He's a) guy who can scramble, make plays with his feet."
That mobility is a big part of what makes Willis such a headache to defend. He’s second on the Dolphins in rushing yards with 223, and Miami has built its offense around what he can do outside the pocket and on the move. For the Patriots, that means another week of dealing with a quarterback who can turn broken plays into something dangerous.
A few more Patriots defenders have their own background with him. Linebacker K.J. Britt was with Willis at Auburn in 2017 and 2018, while cornerback Kindle Vildor was his teammate with the Titans in 2023.
"Freak athlete," Britt told Patriots On SI. "Great competitor, loves football.
Just a good dude. He's just overall a good dude.
Once he gets going, he's explosive. He's dynamic and he can really run."
"He's a super athletic quarterback," Vildor told Patriots On SI. "Strong arm as well and then he's mobile. That's something that we definitely got to make sure we keep an eye on."
Miami comes into the matchup at 1-5 and sitting last in the AFC East, but Willis’ presence gives the Dolphins a chance to make the game far more complicated than the record suggests. He arrived in Miami on a three-year, $67.5 million contract in free agency, and Andrew Rupcich said the growth has been obvious.
"I got to see him in his early stages. His growth over the last two years, I feel like it's been tremendous," offensive guard Andrew Rupcich said to Patriots On SI. "(I) feel like he's gotten better every year."
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