This week, the Minnesota Vikings will be hosting the Tennessee Titans for some joint practice sessions in addition to a preseason matchup inside U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday.
Among the Titans players that will be taking part in these joint sessions is second-year quarterback Malik Willis. After a forgettable rookie year in Tennessee in 2022, Willis has made noticeable strides during the last few months, and he's looking more and more like an NFL quarterback.
With the Titans in town this week, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will get to determine for themselves whether Willis has truly taken some steps in the right direction.
With Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins currently set to become a free agent in 2024, it's entirely possible that O'Connell and Adofo-Mensah could use this week's practices and exhibition matchup as an opportunity to see if they would like to acquire Willis in a trade to possibly be their next starting signal-caller.
Willis was one of the highest-rated quarterback prospects in the 2022 draft pool, but he fell to the third round because his skills were so raw. Now that he's been in the NFL for more than a year, he's clearly more comfortable out on the field.
This isn't to say that he still isn't making questionable decisions in his second year with Tennessee. But the mistakes seem to be decreasing, and his decision-making with the football in his hands appears to be heading in the right direction.
The Titans hired a new general manager earlier this year in Ran Carthon, and during the NFL Draft this past April, he went ahead and selected former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis in the second round. With Carthon not being part of the Tennessee front office when they drafted Willis, some believe he could be the odd man out, and they could look to trade him in the near future.
If the Titans do end up trying to move on from Willis, perhaps Carthon and Adofo-Mensah, two people who spent part of their past working together in the San Francisco 49ers front office, will attempt to work out a deal that results in the Vikings potentially acquiring their franchise's next great quarterback.