Minneapolis • The Minnesota Vikings agreed to acquire quarterback Joshua Dobbs in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals in the hours before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, adding another player with starting experience following the season-ending injury to Kirk Cousins.
The deal was pending completion of a physical for Dobbs, who was acquired on Aug. 24 by the Cardinals in a trade with Cleveland. The Vikings will send a 2024 sixth-round draft pick to the Cardinals and receive a conditional 2024 seventh-rounder with Dobbs in return.
Dobbs, who was a fourth-round draft pick out of Tennessee in 2017 by Pittsburgh, will join his seventh team in seven seasons. The 28-year-old started all eight games for the Cardinals, as a fill-in while Kyler Murray recovers from a knee injury. Murray’s return is imminent after his return to practice on Oct. 18, which was part of the reason why Dobbs was expendable.
Dobbs has had decent moments with Arizona, particularly during the first three weeks, while passing for 1,569 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s also rushed for 258 yards and three scores.
His best quality might be his intelligence. He picked up the offense quickly after being acquired by the Cardinals, just a few weeks before the regular season started. That bodes well for his transition to the Vikings, whose only other options without Cousins are rookie Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens, who’s currently out with a back injury. Hall, the former BYU standout who took over for Cousins against the Packers, will almost certainly start for Minnesota on Sunday at Atlanta.
Dobbs is 1-9 as a starter in his career, counting two games with Tennessee last season.
“I’ve always kind of been a fan of the combination of his skill set from a standpoint of being able to provide some athleticism, make some plays in the pocket, outside the pocket,” coach Kevin O’Connell said in a SiriusXM radio interview.
“I think he’s a very intelligent guy, which gives us an opportunity to get him in here in a short amount of time and try to prepare him for any snaps when that may occur. But at the same time, I think we’re excited and confident in Jaren Hall and what we can put together for a game plan for Jaren where he can go out against a really good team on the road in a tough environment down in Atlanta and hopefully play good football.”