The Pittsburgh Steelers tried to plan for a future without Ben Roethlisberger, but they couldn't find a starter until after he retired. As the 2023 season rolls on, it is starting to appear more and more that they already had their answer for who could have replaced Roethlisberger. Unfortunately, they could not develop him properly and they let him go. While he has been away from the Steelers for a few years, he got a surprising chance to start elsewhere, and it has surprisingly worked well so far for him.
USA Today
Josh Dobbs starts in a critical Week 18 Match against the Jacksonville Jaguars
Who Did The Steelers Draft As A Future QB Option?
In the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Steelers drafted Joshua Dobbs from the Tennessee Volunteers as a project quarterback with upside to potentially replace Roethlisberger, as he had started threatening retirement around that time. Dobbs was the best quarterback that the Volunteers had seen since Peyton Manning, and the Steelers thought he at least deserved a shot with the team.
There was one fatal flaw with Dobbs being a Steeler. The Steelers are known to be a very stubborn team with coaches whom think they same. Neither Todd Haley nor Randy Fichtner had any desire to cater to Dobbs' skillset. Haley had Matt Cassel as his starting quarterback when he coached the Kansas City Chiefs, and now he had one of the slower quarterbacks in the league in Roethlisberger.
Nate Guidry / Post-Gazette
In Dobbs time as a Steeler, both Haley and Fichtner tried to make Dobbs a pocket passer, despite his skillset being as a mobile quarterback. He never fit in, and that caused him to be traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars early in 2019 after being replaced by an undrafted free agent rookie. He came back in 2020, but was put on Injured Reserve early in 2021.
The Steelers let him go after that and he bounced around from team to team. He got a chance to start late in 2022 for the Tennessee Titans, but that didn't work out well. However, he played well enough to get signed by the Cleveland Browns and win the backup role, only to get traded to the Arizona Cardinals in 2023. Dobbs was gifted the starting job over Clayton Tune after the Cardinals cut Colt McCoy.
University of Houston Athletics
Quarterback Clayton Tune had an impressive 2022 season but projects as more of a project at the NFL level.
Dobbs had a rough first week against the Washington Commanders, but in his Week 2 matchup against the New York Giants, he finally showed off his two-way ability that had been only briefly showcased at the NFL level when the Steelers used him as a wildcat quarterback in a meaningless Week 17 game.
Even after blowing a 28-7 lead, Dobbs had an efficient game with 228 yards on 21 passes and 41 yards on just three rushes, including a touchdown run of 23. Every single drive at least made it into Giants' territory, with the exception being the last two drives, where the Cardinals went run-run-pass Randy Fichtner style. Dobbs was able to make magic for most of the game with another former Steeler, James Conner.
Compared to Week 1, Dobbs threw for 98 more yards with the same number of completions, had three more yards per attempt, and 4.4 more yards per completion. He has already shown strides, and he displayed those improvements against a better team in the Giants, as opposed to the Washington Commanders.
While Dobbs still has plenty to work on, he looks like he can have a similar season to Geno Smith, where it takes being a journeyman to finally get his chance and take it. There's also the fact that the Cardinals have worse weapons than Smith in Seattle. As opposed to Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, Dobbs is throwing to Marquise Brown and a past-prime Zach Ertz. Dobbs has been set up to fail, yet he's performing very admirably. It's only fitting that the rocket scientist would figure out a way to take a tough project and turn it into a positive.
What do you think of how the Steelers treated Joshua Dobbs, as well as what he has shown as a starter with the Cardinals? Let us know in the comments.
#SteelerNation.
