Josh Dobbs has an opportunity to play for the Minnesota Vikings this week even though he won’t start for the Arizona Cardinals.NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero revealed on Tuesday that the Cardinals are sending Dobbs and a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Vikings in exchange 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 Vikings have made it clear they are not going to take it easy on the remainder of the season with this move, which comes the day after Minnesota announced quarterback Kirk Cousins was out for the season due to an Achilles tear. With three straight wins thanks to Cousins, the Vikings are 4-4 and still very much in the running for the NFC playoffs.
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 favour 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.
