Packers’ Malik Willis Rejects Bengals’ $20M Offer: ‘My Heart Is with Green Bay’
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Green Bay, September 20, 2025
Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis has stunned the NFL by turning down a $20 million offer from the Cincinnati Bengals, opting to stay loyal to the team’s winning culture. The decision, made amid Joe Burrow’s prolonged absence, has quashed trade rumors and solidified Willis’s commitment to Matt LaFleur’s system.
The Bengals, desperate for a quarterback stopgap, approached Willis with a deal worth nearly four times his current Green Bay contract. Sources confirm the $20 million package was designed to lure him as an emergency starter, but Willis declined, prioritizing his development in Wisconsin.
“They called me with a twenty-million-dollar offer, nearly four times my current total here in Green Bay,” Willis said. “But I said no. I believe in how Coach Matt LaFleur is developing me, I believe in this QB room and the winning culture in Green Bay. I only want the Packers.”
Willis’s choice aligns with his steady progress in Green Bay’s playbook, excelling in play-action, bootleg, and RPO concepts. His solid performances filling in for Jordan Love, who led the 2-0 Packers to wins over the Lions and Commanders, highlight the value of continuity and trust from the coaching staff.
For Cincinnati, Willis’s refusal forces a pivot to free agency or alternative trades, with challenges in syncing a new quarterback with stars like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins midseason. The streamlined playbook needed for integration remains a hurdle for any newcomer.
With injuries sidelining Jayden Reed and Christian Watson, Willis’s decision ensures depth behind Love, reinforcing Green Bay’s championship aspirations. As the Packers eye Week 3 against the Browns, Willis’s loyalty underscores the pull of their culture, proving fit trumps financial temptation.
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