Josh Dobbs has an opportunity to play for the Minnesota Vikings this week even though he won’t start for the Arizona Cardinals.
As reported on Tuesday by NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, the Cardinals are giving the Vikings Dobbs and a 2024 seventh-round selection in return for a 2024 sixth-round pick. Since then, the teams have made the deal public.
Although there’s a chance Dobbs plays, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell stated on SiriusXM that rookie Jaren Hall is expected to start against the Atlanta Falcons.
The move signals that the Vikings won’t be taking it easy for the remainder of the season, after it was reported the day before that quarterback Kirk Cousins was gone for the entire campaign due to an Achilles tear. The Vikings are 4-4 and very much in the running for the NFC playoffs after Cousins led them to three straight wins.
Given Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon’s odd about-face on Monday, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Dobbs is being traded for the second time this season. After Arizona’s Week 8 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Gannon declared Dobbs would start again in Week 9. However, on Monday, he changed his mind and declared either rookie Clayton Tune or the back-from-holiday Kyler Murray will start against the Cleveland Browns. Eight games and little over two months after giving up a fifth-round pick for Dobbs earlier this season, the Cardinals are getting a sixth in exchange.
This offseason, Dobbs was crowned the No. 2 quarterback on the Browns’ depth chart. But with Murray recovering, the Cardinals called and signed him to be their starting quarterback. Dobbs is back in action, having left his former squad a week before it was scheduled to play.
Dobbs has had difficulty lately; he has fumbled eight times this season, including five straight games, and has thrown picks three of the last four times. But he seems to have mastered the art of becoming a team’s go-to solution. The 28-year-old started his first NFL game last season for the Tennessee Titans, who passed over youngster Malik Willis in favor of the seasoned journeyman. He was thrown into the Cardinals’ starting lineup this season, and he now gets the chance to provide the Vikings some veteran leadership following Cousins’ untimely injury.
Dobbs has passed for 1,569 yards, eight touchdowns, and five interceptions so far this season.
Now, he’s on his way from the NFL’s poorest team in terms of records to a second-place team with a strong receiving group that may soon welcome back Justin Jefferson (hamstring) from injured reserve. On Tuesday, the Vikings made another trade when they sent offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Although O’Connell and company are unable to match Cousins and his Pro Bowl caliber of play, they are making every effort to secure a spot in the postseason.