NFL journeyman Joshua Dobbs has been around many teams in the league. He's entering his 10th year in the NFL after being drafted in 2017 by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round.
He'll be a backup in Detroit with the Lions this season, but last year he served as QB2 in Foxborough behind Drake Maye. Dobbs has sung the praises of most of the teams he's played for, no matter how brief.
However, his exit from the New England Patriots seems not to have been smooth from his perspective, at least.
The Patriots made the decision to move on from Dobbs this offseason. They seemed poised to do so but could not find a worthy suitor in a trade deal, so they decided to cut him two weeks into free agency.
On Tuesday in Detroit, Dobbs was asked about how the offseason had been for him. His response came slightly out of left field when he revealed how he felt about being cut by the Patriots rather than having a clear path forward, even if it meant playing for another team.
“It was a weird offseason because it was my first time not having OTAs and everything, and that was just by the nature of my situation in New England, with the timing. That was very frustrating, the way they handled that,” Dobbs told the media. But I think it allowed me to have some peace of mind and be able to have this opportunity. So, I’m excited to be here.”
Dobbs knows what it's like to bounce around the league.
He began his career with the Steelers, then went to the Jaguars only to return to the Steelers again. What followed were stints with the Browns twice, the Lions, the Titans, the Vikings, the 49ers, the Cardinals, the Vikings, and the Patriots.
If anybody knows how to manage being cut, released, waived, or surprised with a trade, it's Dobbs.
The former Patriot QB2 wasn't brought back to the Lions overnight either after he was cut. He signed with the team a week before preseason games were to begin, as he missed OTA's this past spring.
The New England Patriots ended up re-signing Tommy DeVito in free agency to be their new QB2 after serving in 2025 as their emergency QB3. Dobbs begins the 2026 season as Lions starter Jared Goff's backup.
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