Joshua Dobbs may be getting close to the point every NFL player eventually faces, and the signs point to his football future growing murkier by the day.
The former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is still a free agent at 31, and after bouncing through a long list of teams, his time in the league could be running short. Since entering the NFL in 2017 as a fourth-round pick by Pittsburgh, Dobbs has become one of the most traveled quarterbacks in the sport.
His path started with the Steelers in that 2017 draft class, then took him to the Jacksonville Jaguars before he came back to Pittsburgh for the 2020 season. His contract expired in 2021, and after that, the movement never really stopped.
Dobbs spent time with the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and Tennessee Titans in 2023. With Tennessee, he made two starts and threw for 411 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
His best stretch came later that same year with the Minnesota Vikings. After leading the Cardinals to a 1-7 record, Dobbs was traded from Arizona to Minnesota after Week 8 of the 2023 season.
The trade came on October 31, and he had only a few days to get ready before starting for the Vikings on November 5. He later admitted he did not even know the names of many of his teammates when his name was called.
Still, he delivered right away. Dobbs helped Minnesota win back-to-back games in Week 9 and Week 10, piling up 426 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, a 96.2 passer rating, 100 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns. That run didn’t last, though, and he eventually slipped out of favor and became a healthy scratch late in the season.
More recently, Dobbs served as the backup quarterback for Drake Maye on the New England Patriots. In four games, he completed seven of 10 passes for 65 yards and three first downs.
All told, Dobbs has been with 10 of the NFL’s 32 teams since he entered the league.
If his playing days are indeed winding down, he’s not short on next steps. Dobbs graduated from Tennessee with an Aerospace Engineering degree, and he also has the kind of presence that could make him a fit in football media.
For Pittsburgh, Dobbs leaves behind a career filled with flashes. When his time in the league is done, he’ll be remembered for the splash plays and the dual-threat burst he brought whenever he was asked to step in on short notice.
In Other News...
Steelers Finally Fixed One Acrisure Problem As Bigger Questions Loom
Acrisure Stadiums field finally got the kind of offseason update Steelers fans have been waiting to see, with a new Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass playing surface now installed ahead of the 2026 season. The switch comes after the venue drew heavy criticism in recent NFLPA report cards, and it was one of the stadium issues Art Rooney addressed at the NFL Owners Meetings as the organization looked for ways to improve the building from the ground up.
The grass is only part of the refresh. Seat replacements are already underway as part of a multi-million dollar modernization push, with black seats joining the familiar gold to change the look inside the stadium. It is the sort of long-term maintenance the building has needed, even if the bigger conversation around Acrisure still goes well beyond the surface itself. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Edge Room Looks Settled But One Twist Still Lingers
Pittsburghs edge group looks about as settled as any part of the roster heading into camp, with T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith all projected safely onto the initial 53 and rookie fourth-rounder Jack Sawyer right there with them. Under new coordinator Patrick Graham, the Steelers are expected to lean on a base 3-4 look while mixing in plenty of subpackages, which only heightens the importance of having a deep, dependable pass-rush rotation ready from the start.
Jamin Davis is the most interesting name in the mix because Pittsburgh plans to give him a shot at outside linebacker in camp after he has spent most of recent seasons inside. Julius Welschof, meanwhile, is a long shot by any measure and looks more like a developmental piece than a true roster threat, but the edge room still carries one small element of uncertainty as the Steelers sort through how they want their depth chart to look before cutdowns. [Read more 🡒]