MIAMI — Quarterback Malik Willis earned a captain’s patch in his first season with the Miami Dolphins, one of six players voted team captains for the 2026 season, the team announced Monday.
Willis, who signed as an unrestricted free agent in March, joins inside linebacker Jordyn Brooks, running back De’Von Achane, center Aaron Brewer, offensive tackle Patrick Paul and defensive lineman Zach Sieler as this year’s captains. In 11 games with the Green Bay Packers over the previous two seasons, Willis accounted for nine total touchdowns — six passing and three rushing — averaged 10.9 yards per pass and completed 79 percent of his passes without throwing an interception.
“He’s got this cool demeanor about him where guys kind of gravitate to him, where chaos could be going on around him and he still has that same look on his face whether we’re winning or losing or what’s going on in the moment,” Head Coach Jeff Hafley said. “And I think if you have somebody people are looking at in a role like that and he’s panicked; you’re going to create more panic. But if he’s calm, guys are going to probably remain calm, and I think that’s very important in a leadership role.”
Hafley called the selections a reflection of the locker room. “The players voted for those guys, and I think they deserved it,” he said. “In each of their own way they’ve shown the ability to lead in all different ways. I think it says a lot about those six guys that they received the votes from their peers. Those guys set the standard of what we want and what we’re looking for. But it doesn’t end there. Developing leaders is very important and it doesn’t have to just come from the captains.”
Brooks earned the honor for a second consecutive year after an All-Pro 2025 campaign in which his 185 total tackles led the NFL. His 326 tackles across his first two seasons with Miami (2024-25) are the most by any player in his first two years as a Dolphin. Achane, a 2025 Pro Bowl selection, has amassed 4,334 yards from scrimmage and 35 touchdowns before his 25th birthday. Brewer, also a second-straight captain, was named Second-Team All-Pro in 2025 and a finalist for the Protector of the Year Award after anchoring an offensive line that produced the league’s fourth-highest average yards per rush at 4.7. All three received contract extensions this offseason.
“When you get paid around here, it’s gonna be based on performance,” General Manager Sullivan said. “And it goes without saying, when you turn the tape on, Jordyn Brooks, Aaron Brewer, and Achane, they’re making a ton of plays. And then when I got here, and I watched [them], how they worked, and how guys followed them, and just how they practiced day in and day out, it quite frankly it was an easy decision.”
Sieler, the longest-tenured Dolphin, is a two-time captain coming off three consecutive seasons with at least 10 tackles for loss and 25.5 sacks over that span. “Zach sets up so many games and so many rushes for his teammates, and he takes so much pride in that,” Hafley said. “Selfish rushers just want to rush, but Zach’s perfectly okay with running a game, picking a guy, grabbing a guy and having his teammates come through and you can see how excited he gets about that.” Patrick Paul, the 24-year-old left tackle and a first-time captain, enjoyed a breakout 2025 campaign. Sullivan called him “a huge man with length that plays a big man’s game. I’m really excited about going through the process with him as we build the rest of the offensive line.”
The Dolphins open the 2026 regular season Sunday with a Week 1 trip to Las Vegas.