Allen Park — After placing Teddy Bridgewater on the reserved/retired list Sunday morning, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell noted the team intended to move quickly to add a veteran backup quarterback behind starter Jared Goff.
A few hours later, agent Mike McCartney announced client Josh Dobbs had come to terms on a one-year deal with Detroit.
It’s a natural pairing, given Dobbs’ level of experience and having overlapped at two stops with Lions’ first-year offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
As the quarterbacks coach for the Cleveland Browns, Petzing had Dobbs in his room during part of the 2022 season. And the QB followed Petzing to Arizona when the latter left to become the Cardinals coordinator in 2023.
Dobbs started eight games for the Cardinals that season, completing 62.8% of his passes for 1,569 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions.
For his career, Dobbs has appeared in 27 games and made 15 starts. A fourth-round pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Tennessee in 2017, he’s spent time with nine franchises, including a brief stint on Detroit’s practice squad in 2022.
Dobbs served as a backup to MVP runner-up Drake Maye in New England last season.
According to the NFL Network, the Lions also worked out Jake Haener and UFL MVP Jack Plummer before coming to terms with Dobbs.
Dobbs is a better option than id have expected to be available at this point of the offseason. He at least has some starting experience, played half a season as recent as two years ago, and is familiar with the system. Hard to imagine a better option at this point, without having to trade for him.
Dobbs is an upgrade from Bridgewater and the history with Petzing will ease his introduction to the Lions. His legs make him a perfect backup if we need him for a couple regular season games. I hope he never leaves the bench.