The New England Patriots are bringing in a former starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings to back up Drake Maye. NFL free agency has already had its expected chaos, with several teams making bold moves on their future at the league's most important position. The Patriots have certainty at quarterback, as Drake Maye is coming off a very productive rookie year. That being said, having even more security at quarterback never hurts, and New England has just added one of the best backups in the NFL.
According to NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero, the Patriots have signed Josh Dobbs to a two-year, $8 million deal. $3.8 million of that salary will be fully guaranteed.
Josh Dobbs is the perfect backup quarterback for New England
Josh Dobbs may only be 30 years old, but he is the perfect savvy veteran to back up Drake Maye. First, the former Tennessee Vol has a playing style similar to Maye's. Both are poised pocket passers but can scramble when necessary. Dobbs is also renowned for being a high-character guy around the league. He has been a part of several franchises in his career and can learn new playbooks very quickly.
There's a reason why the Alpharetta, Georgia native had a 4.0 in aerospace engineering at Tennessee. Dobbs likely already has a career lined up outside of football, but has chosen to remain in the league. So far in his career, he has appeared in 23 games and thrown for 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions and been a starter for multiple franchises. Josh was most recently a backup with the San Francisco 49ers. While it hasn't completely worked out for Dobbs as a starter, he is exactly the kind of player an organization building a new culture wants to have.
The Patriots are coming off a very disappointing 2024 that led to the firing of first-year head coach Jerod Mayo. The franchise has subsequently decided to turn to another former player in Mike Vrabel. However, unlike Mayo, Vrabel has a history of leading a franchise in the recent past. And it went very well. New England's current head coach was with the Tennessee Titans for six years, where he compiled a record of 54-45. During that time, Tennessee made the playoffs three times, including an incredible run to the AFC Championship game and a season where the franchise was the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Overall, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future as a Patriots fan. New England might not be Super Bowl favorites heading into next season, but this group is poised to be an exciting team that should be on the rise. And this organization will have the chance to draft an absolute game-breaker with No. 5 overall pick. Whether it's behind the scenes or on the field, Joshua Dobbs is very capable of contributing to that rise.
