Malik Willis hasn’t had many chances to show himself in Miami just yet. OTA reps are limited, and the real evaluation won’t come until the pads go on. But his first public moment in South Florida didn’t go as planned.
The Miami Dolphins quarterback threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Miami Marlins game against the Philadelphia Phillies at LoanDepot Park, and the result quickly made the rounds for all the wrong reasons.
Malik Willis’ First Pitch Mishap Draws Worrying Reactions
Reporter Kevin Barral posted the clip of the new Dolphins quarterback, Malik Willis, throwing out the first pitch ahead of the Marlins game against the Phillies.
That clip went viral because he missed the strike zone and the catcher by a wide margin. The pitch may or may not have struck the backstop on the fly.
The reaction was immediate.
Mike Freeman reposted it with a blunt: “Oh my god.”
Jomboy Media didn’t hold back either: “Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis with a horrendous first pitch.” JaguarGator’s page added: “Oh no.”
Sleeper’s official page didn’t hold back on the trolling either and suggested that Willis is worse than Tua Tagovailoa. They shared the clip and captioned: “Dolphins fans: “At least our QB’s accuracy can’t get worse than Tua!”
Malik Willis: <clip>”
NFL insider John Frascella piled on: “Malik Willis getting his Dolphins tenure started off right…”
And Dolphins beat reporter Alain Poupart tried to find some optimism: “Nice pitching motion, but let’s hope his passes this fall will be a liiiittle bit more accurate.”
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The pitch was way off target, and there’s even a fair argument that it nearly reached the backstop on the fly. Multiple replays make it clear.
For context, though, ceremonial first pitches have humbled plenty of athletes before. Even Jordan Love had one sail high at a Milwaukee Brewers opener, though his catcher at least managed to bring it in.
For Willis, the real evaluation starts in the fall. The Dolphins signed him to a three-year, $67.5 million deal this offseason, banking on what he showed in a limited role with the Green Bay Packers.
Across two seasons, he appeared in 11 games, going 2-1 as a starter while throwing for 972 yards, 6 touchdowns, and zero interceptions on a 78.7% completion rate. He added 261 rushing yards and 3 more scores on the ground.
His most impressive showing came on December 27 against the Baltimore Ravens. Stepping in for an injured Love, Willis completed 18 of 21 passes for 288 yards and a touchdown, while adding 60 rushing yards and 2 more scores.
He didn’t play enough to qualify for rankings on PFSN’s NFL QB Impact Metric, but it showed the kind of ceiling Miami is betting on. That’s the version the Dolfans will care about.
