Hold the presses, Josh Dobbs is now being offered by the Arizona Cardinals as trade bait so a trade seems likely! The Cleveland Browns or Minnesota Vikings are among the most obvious possibilities. The Cardinals have decided to go with nominal “Franchise Quarterback” Kyler Murray, with 2023 fifth round draft pick Clayton Tune as their backup. Tune may start on Sunday if Murray is not completely ready to go after rehabbing from knee surgery. Dobbs, the 28-year old veteran aerospace engineer from the University of Tennessee who was originally drafted in the fourth round by the Steelers in 2017, has been demoted to third string.

It could not be more clear that he will be shopped for a last minute trade deadline deal. It just so happens that the Minnesota Vikings have lost their stud, Kirk Cousins due to an Achilles tendon tear, and they need a replacement immediately. The Vikes might be willing to enter the Jacoby Brissett sweepstakes if they feel he is better than veteran Sean Mannion and 2023 fifth round draft pick Jaren Hall. Vikings backup Nick Mullens went on IR on Oct 11, so the Vikings are already operating on third string at this point.

Minnesota has $9.6 million of cap space and conceivably could sign a big-name flop like Carson Wentz if they want to. They might have to use “voidable years” to spread out the pain to 2024 and 2025 or restructure some other contract, but it could be accomplished if they want to.

Still Minnesota is the most desperate team in the NFL with Cousins and Mullens both out. The only question is whether Dobbs is their guy or whether they want to spend some more on someone with a greater pedigree.

The Browns need to decide whether Dobbs is better than P.J. Walker. For the year, Dobbs is completing 62.8% of his passes with an 8/5 TD/INT ratio in eight games. His passer rating is a poor 81.2 and his QBR is 46.6. However, he really does not have a very good team around him. Walker is completing only 49.5% of his passes with 1/5 TD/INT ratio. Passer rating is 51.8 and QBR is 22.7. Zoicks! Dobbs would seem to be a better choice, especially since he spent the entire training camp with the Browns this year.

Alternatively, around the league, if a deal for another quarterback (say, Brissett) is made, a team like Washington could be interested in obtaining a new backup to replace the quarterback who is being traded. So Rocket Man may re-enter the earth’s atmosphere in a location we do not expect at the moment. We will know in a few hours.