Packers new quarterback reacts to trade: 'Definitely caught me by surprise'

The Green Bay Packers just signed Jordan Love to a lucrative extension, so one wouldn't immediately assume they would be in the market to trade for a quarterback.

However, that's exactly what the Packers did last week.

Sensing that their options behind Love were unprepared to take over in case of emergency, the Packers traded for former Tennessee Titans third-round pick Malik Willis, sending a 2025 seventh-rounder to Tennessee.

Willis was regarded as a potential first-round pick in the 2022 National Football League Draft before ultimately falling to Day 2. Now, just two years later, he's already with a new team.

It was a move that made sense for the Packers, who were clearly looking either for a trade or a last-minute free-agent signing. But for Willis, it was an abrupt end to a tenure in Tennessee that began with high hopes of becoming a long-term starter.

“I didn’t wake up thinking I was going to be traded,” Willis said, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky . "So it definitely caught me by surprise. More than anything, you just take it [for] what it is. Quick turnaround, and the season’s starting. There’s no more lounging around and kinda getting ready for the season. This is what it is.”

Willis only started three games with the Titans, who drafted Will Levis, their current starter, in the second round of the 2023 Draft. He had a 1-2 record in those three starts, all in 2022, and totaled a 31-for-61 passing line with no touchdowns and three interceptions.

Though Willis' days of competing for a starting gig may be put on pause, he has the opportunity to establish himself as a permanent backup in Green Bay this season. He'll also have the chance to play behind a more talented QB in Love than anything he witnessed in Tennessee.

And because the NFL is a next-man-up league, there's no telling if and when Willis may suddenly be thrust into the spotlight once again.

More NFL: Packers $67 million offseason acquisition named to "All-Overpaid Team"