The future of Josh Dobbs in Pittsburgh

With Mason Rudolph securing second-string quarterback duties in Pittsburgh, what does the future of Josh Dobbs entail?
The future of Josh Dobbs in Pittsburgh
The future of Josh Dobbs in Pittsburgh /

It's not rocket science, is it? 

If you haven't heard, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Josh Dobbs majored in aerospace engineering during his time at the University of Tennessee. Dobbs maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA and captured the Torchbearer Award (highest honor for undergraduate student at Tennessee) during his four-year career as a Volunteer. 

Out of the many characteristics used to describe successful quarterbacks, intelligence will find itself as one of the most commonly used adjectives. There's no shortage of IQ in Dobbs' mind, as NASA may very well gladly welcome his resume once his football days are over. 

Those days may be approaching sooner than Dobbs may have hoped for, however. 

Pressure is a difficult thing to measure, especially in Dobbs' case. A year prior to the Steelers selecting Dobbs with the 135th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys managed to nab their franchise (and soon to be handsomely paid) quarterback in Dak Prescott with the 135th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. 

Prescott's career managed to enter orbit much faster than Dobbs', as Prescott took over for an injured Tony Romo and has yet to look back. Circumstances dictate situations, and while Dobbs has yet to fully earn the keys to the car, his test drives have been murky enough to raise questions about his future wearing black and gold. 

The Steelers front office shared similar feelings, and relayed those in the form of selecting Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph just a year later in the 2018 NFL Draft. The response from Dobbs? A preseason performance for the ages in the fourth and final game of last season's schedule against the Carolina Panthers to secure his roster spot in a competition against future XFL quarterback Landry Jones. 

While Dobbs' impressive preseason play earned him first dibs to the throne of Ben Roethlisberger should it fall due to injury (spoiler: it did). Dobbs' 2018 numbers: 6/12 passing, 43 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception and a passer rating of 24.0.  

Context is important. Dobbs, with bare minimum reps in practice and no time to truly prepare, was thrown into the fire in Oakland and was never able to establish himself before Roethlisberger eventually returned late in the game. The Raiders bested the Steelers 24-21 to secure a 0-4 record for Pittsburgh against the AFC West. 

Big Ben's late arrival was the subject of controversy after the conclusion of the game, as head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed Roethlisberger could have entered the game sooner then he did, yet the Steelers were "in the rhythm and flow of the game" per Tomlin following the loss. 

Translation: The Steelers were evaluating Dobbs' ability to play against a first-string defense. The results came back negative. 

While there were hopeful whispers of Devlin Hodges upending Dobbs for the third and final quarterback spot (Tomlin has never carried four quarterbacks on his roster), Hodges never posed a true threat for Dobbs' roster spot despite having better numbers than Dobbs. Hodges may have transformed himself into Patrick Mahomes and the Steelers still would have kept Dobbs due to the experience/high pick spent on the position. 

Despite a poor showing this preseason, Dobbs still managed to generate trade rumors before the final rosters were trimmed Saturday, as Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck announced his retirement shortly before the start of the 2019 season, leaving the Colts thin in regards to their quarterback depth. 

So here we stand, as Dobbs now will play as the third-string quarterback. Should Tomlin continue with his trend in only dressing two quarterbacks, Dobbs will likely find himself as an inactive player more weeks than not. 

Per overthecap.com, Dobbs is currently set to hit free agency following the conclusion of the 2020 season. As far as remaining on the Steelers roster, Dobbs should find himself in Pittsburgh through the end of next season due to his cheap price tag (less than a $1 million in cap hit for each of next two seasons) and experience/familiarity with the playbook. 

Yet what does the long-term future hold? In this current moment, the current heir to Roethlisberger's throne rests on the shoulders of Rudolph as opposed to Dobbs. Unless Dobbs is comfortable remaining as a back-up quarterback, the Steelers will likely send him packing once his rookie deal is up.    


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Donnie Druin
DONNIE DRUIN

Donnie Druin has been with AllSteelers since August of 2019. Follow him on Twitter @DonnieDruin for more news, updates and more on the Pittsburgh Steelers.