Quarterback Malik Willis has always been reluctant to embrace fame. For the first time in his NFL career, Willis is getting an opportunity to start a full season after signing with the Miami Dolphins. At the same time, Willis has also made it clear that while quarterbacks are certainly considered the face of the franchise, he does it because he enjoys playing the game.

Recently, the QB appeared on The Pivot Podcast, where he reiterated his stance. Only this time, the fifth-year signal-caller clarified his stance on taking up a media job after his NFL career and admitted that he doesn’t want to pursue a career in media because he doesn’t want to be known.

“I don’t understand why you should treat somebody that’s making this much money or this much money a different way,” said Willis on The Pivot Podcast. “We are all people at the end of the day. All the people that know your name, none of that matters.

“Like, at the end of the day, even when I talked to Leonard and when they came, they was like, ‘Would you ever get in the media after?’ I’m like, ‘No, bro.’ I don’t care to be known. That’s not why I do this. I do this because I have fun. I’m grateful for the ability god blessed me with, and I come out here and try to use it.

Willis’ comments on the podcast appear consistent with a philosophy he has expressed throughout his career. Even before he was an NFL player, Willis characterized sudden national attention as strange. At his 2022 Liberty Pro Day, Willis was scouted by 60 NFL coaches, scouts, and executives from all 32 teams. At the same time, he was expected to be the top draft pick.

However, when asked about suddenly becoming a national story and having people discuss him on television and social media, he responded:

“They be bored. I swear they’re bored. The national spotlight, it’s kind of weird. It’s like, ‘Hey, you care more than some people I know care.’ I’m like, ‘Dang, you act like we’re cousins.'”

His NFL career, however, has actually not followed the typical highly drafted quarterback path. He was considered one of the most physically gifted quarterbacks in the 2022 NFL Draft. But instead of being a first-round selection, he fell to No. 86 overall, where the Tennessee Titans selected him in the third round.

In Tennessee, he struggled to establish himself as the starting quarterback. He lost the job to Will Levis and was eventually traded to the Green Bay Packers. He spent a couple of years backing up Jordan Love, but failed to establish himself as a starting quarterback.

Now, however, the Dolphins have signed Malik Willis on a three-year deal. And with a new regime in Miami, Willis is set to start his first full season.

“I don’t think I put a timeline on it,” Willis said earlier this offseason when asked about his wait to find a new team. “I think it happened when I was prepared. I think when I came into the league, I wasn’t prepared, and that’s not a knock toward my coaches or myself; that’s just what it was coming from the system I came from, and I’ve had a chance to learn the last four years since I’ve been in the league. I went through four different offenses and seen a bunch of different defenses, and I just think I’ve grown a lot and I’m grateful for the opportunity once again.”

For now, Willis is entering the fifth season of his NFL career. But with the way things are shaping up, it’s safe to say that just as he carried himself through his college career and is now doing the same in the NFL, Willis will likely carry his post-retirement life in the same way as well: away from fame.