Patriots sign third quarterback in free agency
The New England Patriots are adding Josh Dobbs to their quarterback room, signing the 30-year-old two a two-year deal.
The New England Patriots spent the first day of free agency mainly addressing clear needs on the roster. On Monday evening though they made a signing at a position most people haven’t been talking about – quarterback.
As first shared by his agent Mike McCartney, the Patriots have added Josh Dobbs to their quarterback room. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero Dobbs is getting a two-year, $8 million contract with $3.8 million in guaranteed money.
In New England Dobbs will be reunited with head coach Mike Vrabel. Dobbs played for Vrabel’s Titans in 2022, and started two games that year.
In total Dobbs has spent time with 10 teams (New England will be his 11th) during his five-year NFL career. He was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, and has bounced around the league since as a backup including stints with three different teams in both 2022 and 2023. Dobbs spent all of last year with the San Francisco 49ers, and made one start.
Overall Dobbs has appeared in 23 NFL games with 15 starts – with 12 of those starts coming in 2023 between the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings. He’s completed 62.7% of his 549 career pass attempts for 3,218 yards and 17 touchdowns with 15 interceptions.
Now with the Patriots Dobbs will add a veteran presence a quarterback room with Drake Maye and Joe Milton, who are both coming off of their rookie seasons. Jacoby Brissett, who was the veteran in that room last year, is currently a free agent.
Dobbs signing could give the Patriots flexibility to trade Milton – something that has been rumored since Milton’s performance in the Patriots’ season-ending win over the Buffalo Bills. At the same time, the Patriots’ preference could be to keep three quarterbacks – certainly through training camp and potentially into the regular season to take advantage of the ’emergency QB’ rule.
For more on Patriots free agency, be sure to check out the Offseason Hub website here.
