This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Every preseason, a few players capture the hearts of America for a few weeks before falling back to irrelevancy.Â
For the last few years, Joshua Dobbs has been a key part of that conversation.
The Passtronaut has been in the league for seven years now and has started just 14 games. He’s a preseason icon who lights it up every August, just to bounce around teams as a backup and practice squad player during the regular season.
The Steelers drafted Dobbs out of Tennessee in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.Â
He was immediately named the starting quarterback for Pittsburgh’s preseason opener against the New York Giants, and that game was the start of an iconic stretch of preseason greatness.
Dobbs stuck on Pittsburgh’s roster as the third-string quarterback behind Ben Roethlisberger’s longtime backup, Landry Jones. In 2018, Dobbs actually had to step in for Roethlisberger, and was on the Jacksonville Jaguars the next season.
He then bounced around from the Cleveland Browns, another stint with the Steelers, Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, another stint with the Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings and now the San Francisco 49ers, where Dobbs is balling out in the preseason again.
Dobbs was so good for the Browns in the 2023 preseason that they were able to trade him to the Arizona Cardinals for a fifth-round pick. A player that the Browns signed as a free agent was able to be flipped for a fifth-rounder after just a few preseason games.
That’s how dominant he is this time of year.
Dobbs started the season for the Cardinals out of shear desperation when they lost Kyler Murray for the season. The tanking Cardinals traded Dobbs to the Minnesota Vikings in October last year, and he immediately stepped in for Kirk Cousins.
When the opportunity presents itself, Dobbs finds a way to rise to the occasion and shine.
He signed a one-year deal worth $2.25 million to join the San Francisco 49ers this offseason, and he’s currently in a battle with Brandon Allen for the backup quarterback job.
Allen spent last year backing up Brock Purdy, but Dobbs is shining again in the preseason. It’s going to be hard for Kyle Shanahan and the Niners brass to ignore what Dobbs can do with his legs and the excitement that his athleticism brings to the offense. It’s a complete change of pace from Purdy.
It’s insane how hard Dobbs has to work to secure these backup quarterback jobs. If he has to start a bunch of games, your team is probably in some serious trouble. However, he’s one of the greatest preseason heroes of our time and deserves to be rewarded for giving us something to talk about amidst these otherwise boring games.
