At the halfway point of the 2023 NFL season, quarterback Josh Dobbs has already had a season to remember.
Dobbs’ career has been a rollercoaster ride, from training camp with the Browns to starting eight games for the Cardinals to rallying the Vikings to a comeback victory only five days after being acquired at the trade deadline.
Nonetheless, his ability to rise to the occasion in adversity should earn the journeyman quarterback a sizable payout this offseason.
One AFC executive told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Dobbs will make “pretty good money” on his next contract as a free agency in 2024. Dobbs has established himself as a “high-level No. 2” quarterback who can also serve as a spot starter if necessary, according to the executive.
Dobbs isn’t the only quarterback on Minnesota’s roster who will demand a large payday this offseason.
Kirk Cousins, who was having the best season of his career before sustaining a ruptured Achilles in Week 8, is slated to enter free agency in March. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, “a return to Minnesota should be considered a viable solution” for Cousins, who will not be fully recovered by the time teams can make contract offers.
This is nuts. Puts into perspective what Josh Dobbs did in Minnesota this past weekend and the challenge. Very impressive. pic.twitter.com/7DkoUeVS8A
— Jim (@Cakalacman) November 9, 2023
Dobbs has been a good story this season, but Minnesota would be wise not to rely on a quarterback with a 1-9 career record for their future. In an ideal world, the Vikings re-sign both quarterbacks, giving the team a premier signal-caller in Cousins and a high-end QB2 in Dobbs to back up a 35-year-old starter returning from injury.
In their first game without Kirk Cousins… #Vikings players are honoring their starting QB in warmups. Love it. pic.twitter.com/NW87RQt7Bt
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 5, 2023
Paying both players may be too expensive for the Vikings, who are about to sign a massive deal extension with standout wideout Justin Jefferson. Unless the Vikings want to move up the draft board in search of a top-tier quarterback prospect, re-signing Cousins should be the primary priority.
Dobbs, on the other hand, should fit in perfectly as a stop-gap answer for a team wanting to develop a young quarterback in the wing – not a bad assignment for Dobbs, who had only attempted 17 passes in the NFL before to last season.
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