Vikings Head Coach outlines 5 Things to Know About New Vikings 28-year-old QB …

The Vikings added a new quarterback before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.

Minnesota acquired Joshua Dobbs and a 2024 conditional seventh-round pick from the Arizona Cardinals for a sixth-round pick via trade, the team announced Tuesday.

Dobbs will join a quarterbacks room of rookie Jaren Hall and veterans Nick Mullens and Sean Mannion (practice squad) following Sunday’s season-ending injury to Kirk Cousins.

A former standout at the University of Tennessee, Dobbs was drafted by the Steelers in 2017 and appeared in five games as a rookie. Two years later, he was traded to the Jaguars.

Dobbs returned to Pittsburgh in September 2020 and headed for Cleveland in April 2022 before a quick stop with Detroit in December that was followed with a stint in Tennessee. He signed with Cleveland again this offseason but was then traded to Arizona in August.

Dobbs started all eight games for the Cardinals this season but was benched in Week 8. The Cardinals acquired Dobbs in a trade with the Browns during the final days of training camp. With the Cardinals, he threw for 1,569 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions while also running for three scores.

Here are five things to know about Minnesota’s new quarterback:

Dual threat

Dobbs is being traded for the second time this year after playing the best football of his career for the Cardinals. In Week 4, he posted a career-high 265 passing yards against the 49ers. He has recorded at least one touchdown in six of his eight starts, including accounting for multiple scores four times.

 

Last week, in a 31-24 loss to the Ravens, Dobbs threw two touchdowns and rushed for one score. According to Pro Football Focus, his rushing grade ranks third among all quarterbacks. Only Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson have more rushing yards at the position.

Dobbs has three rushing touchdowns on the season and has picked up 19 first downs on the ground.Here are five things to know about Minnesota’s new quarterback:

Dual threat
Dobbs is being traded for the second time this year after playing the best football of his career for the Cardinals. In Week 4, he posted a career-high 265 passing yards against the 49ers. He has recorded at least one touchdown in six of his eight starts, including accounting for multiple scores four times.

Last week, in a 31-24 loss to the Ravens, Dobbs threw two touchdowns and rushed for one score. According to Pro Football Focus, his rushing grade ranks third among all quarterbacks. Only Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson have more rushing yards at the position.

Dobbs has three rushing touchdowns on the season and has picked up 19 first downs on the ground.

Often on the move

Dobbs, 28, is joining his seventh NFL team (including practice squads) since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. He’s also been rostered by the Steelers, Jaguars, Browns, Lions, Titans and Cardinals.

Just days before training camp concluded in August, the Cleveland Browns traded Dobbs, who was named the team’s backup quarterback hours prior, to the Cardinals.

Last season, Dobbs backed up then-Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett while Deshaun Watson served an 11-game suspension. When Watson returned, Dobbs was released and finished the season with Tennessee.

With the Titans, Dobbs started the regular-season finale against the Jaguars but suffered a 20-16 loss with the AFC South title on the line. In two starts, Dobbs threw for 411 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

A former Tennessee Volunteers star

Dobbs ranks fifth in Volunteers history with 7,138 career passing yards and 53 touchdowns and fourth with 614 pass completions. He helped the Volunteers win three Bowl games as a starting quarterback.

During both his junior and senior seasons, he threw for more than 2,000 yards and ran for over 500 yards while accounting for more than 25 touchdowns.

 

He recently became the president of the Tennessee Alumni Board of Directors.

A Future astronaut

• • • After his playing days are done, Dobbs could end up in outer space.

      Dobbs majored in aerospace engineering at the University of Tennessee. He was presented with the 2017 Torchbearer Award, the highest honor for an undergraduate student, which recognizes accomplishments in the community and academics. Dobbs held a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

      Last year, he established the ASTROrdinary Dobbs Foundation, which is “a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting, encouraging and inspiring all members of our community, particularly the youth, through educational, economical, professional and recreational empowerment.”

      Dobbs hopes to become a pilot and then astronaut, peaking with a trip to outer space. He has developed a relationship with NASA during his time in Jacksonville and Cleveland. He has also worked with companies like Cirrus Aircraft in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Scottsdale, Arizona.

      Raising awareness for alopecia

      Dobbs is an advocate for those who deal with alopecia, a hair loss condition by which he is affected.

      He was first diagnosed in third grade after waking up one morning with a small bald spot on his head. Since then, he has frequently spoken about the condition, how it’s affected him, and why it’s important to spread awareness about it, especially for children who endure what he did as a child.