Let’s just be grateful that Joshua Dobbs got away from the Arizona Cardinals. Sure, it wasn’t the most ideal of circumstances to be thrust into in the middle of the season, but he undeniably left the desert for a better situation in Minnesota.
As you might expect, given the Cardinals’ long history of organizational ineptitude, their head coach Jonathan Gannon and GM Monti Ossenfort were evidently not on the same page regarding Dobbs’ outlook in 2023.
Although Gannon had already benched Dobbs in favor of overwhelmed rookie Clayton Tune, the return of Kyler Murray was imminent. It made sense to try to get something for Dobbs after he played reasonably well. Looks like Gannon either wasn’t in the know about the front office’s plans, or just likes lying to the face of his players.
Gannon told Dobbs right after Week 8’s 31-24 loss to the Ravens that he’d be starting in Cleveland the next game. Literally the following day (Monday), Gannon pulls up to Dobbs and informs him Tune is the starter instead. That’s lie No. 1.
Here’s the most hilarious part of what Dobbs said about his encounters with Gannon on the Torchbearers Podcast, from a full episode that can be found via the link:
“Woke up Tuesday morning with a text from my agent saying, ‘Hey, you could be traded today!’ Because it’s the trade deadline.
And listen to this, when I had my meeting with JG in Arizona, he looked at me in the face and said, ‘You’re not getting traded. You’re not being released. You’re going to be here in Arizona.'”
Yup. That was a lie, too. Dobbs was traded to the Vikings that Tuesday, on Halloween. All he did in his Minnesota debut was engineer a game-winning drive that’s already the stuff of legend.
How Dobbs ended this podcast clip is such a fitting microcosm of the life of an NFL journeyman: “The last 36 hours, whatever was told to you, something different has happened.”
Life comes at you fast. But in this case, being blindsided by a trade was better than getting clobbered behind Arizona’s patchwork offensive line on a 1-8 team that’s going nowhere. Plus, again, Kyler is coming back, so Dobbs would’ve been riding the pine for the remainder of the 2023 campaign anyway.
Now? Dobbs has improbably reversed his fortunes and may have the right blend of moxie, competent play-caller and surrounding talent to guide the Vikings to an NFC Wild Card berth. He was already a fascinating story with the Cardinals. It’s gone to a whole other level now.
Joshua Dobbs hive, we continue to feast…
