After he lost his starting job to Drake Maye early in the 2024 season, it became clear that now-backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett would not be back with the New England Patriots in 2025. As a consequence, the team set out to find a new veteran to team up with the former first-round draft pick.
It found one in Joshua Dobbs. The career journeyman signed a two-year free agency deal to join the Patriots and reunite with his one-time head coach, Mike Vrabel.
Hard facts
Name: Joshua Dobbs
Position: Quarterback
Jersey number: 11
Opening day age: 30 (1/26/1995)
Measurements: 6’3 3/8”, 220 lbs, 32 5/8” arm length, 9 1/4” hand size, 4.84s 40-yard dash, 6.75s 3-cone drill, 4.31s short shuttle, 33” vertical jump, 10’2” broad jump, 9.60 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers (2017-2019; 2020-21), Jacksonville Jaguars (2019), Cleveland Browns (2022; 2023), Detroit Lions (2022), Tennessee Titans (2022), Arizona Cardinals (2023), Minnesota Vikings (2023), San Francisco 49ers (2024), New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Tennessee (2013-16)
A well-regarded recruit out of Alpharetta High School in his Georgia hometown, Dobbs originally committed to Arizona State before flipping to the University of Tennessee. He spent four seasons with the Vols from 2013 on, appearing in 37 games with 35 starts. He left Knoxville having completed 61.5 of his passes for 7,138 yards, 53 touchdowns and 29 interceptions, while also averaging 4.9 yards per run and scoring 34 rushing TDs.
His college production and strong athletic profile led to Dobbs getting selected 135th overall in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Steelers. He ended up seeing minimal action before getting traded to Jacksonville in 2019 — the first in several relocations he experienced so far in his eight-year career in the pros.
In total, Dobbs is now on his ninth team since entering the NFL. A backup throughout, he has started 15 games and gone 344-of-549 for 3,281 yards with 17 touchdowns — plus 8 rushing TDs — and 15 interceptions.
Scouting report
Strengths: A well put-together player with good height and average weight, Dobbs complements his size with a strong athletic skillset. Both fast and quick, he is tough to bring down in the pocket and offers dual-threat potential as a runner with the football. He is able to shake defenders while simultaneously also having the burst and conviction to take advantage of escape lanes; as a result, Dobbs has been highly effective on scramble plays, averaging 8.3 yards per run over the course of his career.
As a passer, Dobbs has shown an ability to build off of his scrambling skills by making plays outside of the pocket or on the move. In the pocket, he has shown the desired poise and anticipation as well as some good ball placement particularly on throws over the middle. He can drive the ball down the field but also is not afraid of coming off his read to throw to a hot route instead.
In addition, Dobbs offers considerable experience and has shown the ability to adapt to situations on the fly. He also has been praised in previous stops for his leadership and demeanor in the locker room, even as a career backup.
Weaknesses: The biggest issue with Dobbs over the course of his career has been snap-to-snap consistency in all its shapes and forms. His accuracy and ball placement can be on and off, while his throwing mechanics and footwork tend to get sloppy from time to time as well. He can get “happy feet” in the pocket trying to look for running lanes rather than passing opportunities, especially when faced with pressure from early on.
His decision making on the field has left some to be desired as well, contributing to a high turnover total for a player who has appeared in just 23 career games (15 career interceptions plus 10 lost fumbles).
2024 review
Stats: 2 games (1 start) | 81 offensive snaps (7.5%) | 47 pass attempts, 32 completions (68.1%), 361 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs | 8 carries, 25 yards (3.1 yards/carry), 2 TDs | 2 sacks (3.8%), 2 fumbles (1 lost), 1 penalty
Season recap: Coming off a relatively busy if not always entirely successful 2023 season, Dobbs joined the 49ers on a one-year, $2.25 million contract in free agency. He entered San Francisco as the projected No. 3 quarterback behind Brock Purdy and Brandon Allen. As such, he saw limited action and ended up playing only two games all year.
His first opportunity came in Week 17 against one of his former teams, the Lions, after Purdy had suffered an elbow injury in the late fourth quarter. Dobbs played the 49ers’ final five offensive snaps of the game — scoring a 7-yard rushing touchdown in the process. The next week versus another of his ex-clubs, the Cardinals, he drew the start.
Going wire-to-wire in the season finale, he had what can be called a typical Joshua Dobbs game. There were some impressive moments and three total touchdowns, but he also threw a pair of interceptions and lost a fumble. San Francisco lost 47-24, putting a disappointing wrap on Dobbs’ one-year stint in the Bay Area.
2025 preview
Position: No. 2 QB | Ability: Depth player/Role player | Contract: Signed through 2026
What will be his role? With Drake Maye as the undisputed QB1 and undrafted rookie Ben Wooldridge the only other quarterback currently on the roster, there is no question about Dobbs’ role in 2025: he will be the Patriots’ primary backup quarterback and as such the next man up in case the starter became unavailable.
What is his growth potential? Dobbs has some tendencies in his game that could be cleaned up, but his overall potential for development heading into Year 9 still projects to be minimal. At this point in his career, he is who he is as a player and quarterback.
Does he have positional versatility? His natural athletic skill allows Dobbs to play a modern game at the quarterback position, extending plays and also posing a threat as a runner. That said, he has only gotten so many opportunities to prove himself and showcase his versatility.
What is his salary cap situation? Dobbs arrived in New England on a two-year, $8 million contract in March and is carrying a cap hit of $2.925 million into 2025. That number contains $2.75 million in full guarantees through his base salary ($1.7M) and signing bonus proration ($1.05M) and features an additional $500,000 worth of roster and workout bonuses — $175,000 of them classified as likely to be earned.
How safe is his roster spot? While there are questions about his long-term outlook with the Patriots, the structure of his deal suggests that Dobbs will be on the roster come the regular season. Adding to that projection is the current composition of New England’s quarterback depth chart: he is the only player with NFL experience available to back up Drake Maye.
Summary: Dobbs has a simple job this season: support Maye by all means necessary. The main part of it is being a mentor who, although never a regular starter, has played plenty of football in several different settings through his career. He also is the oft-mentioned one snap away from seeing the field, even though in an ideal world he will not play any meaningful snaps for the Patriots anytime soon.
What do you think about Joshua Dobbs heading into the 2025 season? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.