Josh Dobbs is headed to Detroit.
The former Tennessee quarterback signed a one-year contract with the Lions on Sunday afternoon, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo. The deal includes a $475,000 guarantee and can be worth as much as $1.425 million next season.
Detroit moved quickly after backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater announced his retirement from football earlier Sunday. Dobbs now steps in as Jared Goff’s backup on a team trying to climb back to the top of the NFL North after a rough finish last season. The Lions owned the best record in the NFC two seasons ago, but they slipped to 9-8 last year and missed the playoffs.
Dobbs arrives in Detroit after spending last season with the New England Patriots behind Drake Maye. He saw limited action in four games, going 7 of 10 for 65 yards. New England still reached the Super Bowl before falling to the Seattle Seahawks.
His latest stop adds another chapter to a career that has taken him all over the league. Detroit will be the eighth team Dobbs has joined in 10 seasons, with previous stops in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Arizona, Minnesota, San Francisco and New England.
Across his NFL career, Dobbs has completed 351 of 559 passes for 3,346 yards, with 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He has also done damage as a runner, piling up 515 rushing yards and eight scores.
Most of that workload came in 2023, when he played for both Arizona and Minnesota while injuries hit both rosters.
Detroit has seen a former Tennessee quarterback before. The Lions drafted Hendon Hooker in the 2023 NFL Draft, though the former SEC Offensive Player of the Year never got above third on the depth chart.
Dobbs spent most of three seasons as Tennessee’s starting quarterback from 2013-16, leading the Volunteers to several rivalry wins as an upperclassman before Pittsburgh selected him in the fourth round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
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