Minnesota Vikings fans are channeling memories of Case Keenum and applying them to current quarterback Josh Dobbs.
The mentality is fine and dandy. The parallels check out.
The “Other” Theory about Josh Dobbs and the Vikings
But what if Dobbs is more than that?
The man who Dobbs replaced, longtime Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, has four relative strikes against him heading into 2024:
- He’s recovering from a major injury.
- He turns 36 next summer.
- He’s a free agent when March hits the calendar.
- As always, he’ll demand a ginormous contract.
Dobbs, on the other hand, only checks one of the criteria, the free-agent part.
If they haven’t already — some have; tip of the cap to those folks — Vikings fans should at least sideways consider that Dobbs is the new QB1. As in — this guy is just Minnesota’s quarterback in 2023, 2024, 2025, and so forth.
The Vikings’ brass may disagree, and the world will learn about the team’s plan at quarterback in about four months. But examining Dobbs through a lens of, “Well, this guy is great to keep the seat warm until Cousins is back,” is probably shortsighted. Dobbs is 28 years old, has very little mileage on the odometer, and could reasonably quarterback the Vikings or another team for the next several seasons. Call it The Geno Smith Path.
Unless Dobbs and the Vikings win a Super Bowl in 2023 — they probably won’t — his pricetag on a proverbial prove-it deal next season will be noteworthy but not Cousins-ish. Cousins will ask $40+ million for the Vikings front office because, let’s face it, that’s what he does. The incumbent Vikings signal-caller is a stand-up and sentimental dude, but he is a notoriously shrewd businessman.
Barring the Super Bowl dream scenario, Dobbs’ contractual ask will be smaller than Cousins’ — probably to the tune of half. Cousins may ask and get $40 million; Dobbs might check in around $20 million.
Before Keenum took over QB1 for the Vikings in 2017, he had 25 starts under his belt. Dobbs had 10 the moment he trotted on the field at the Atlanta Falcons and guided the purple team to a season-saving triumph. Keenum had a season and a half’s body of work. Dobbs had about half a season.
Fans can rest assured the Vikings quarterback debate will become deafening as soon as the season ends — just like the 2018 offseason — but don’t rule out Dobbs simply as “the guy” going forward.
And no rule states Minnesota can’t draft a quarterback on top of extending Dobbs for 1-3 years.
Dobbs is mobile, affordable, lovable, a rocket scientist, and, so far — a winner in Minneapolis. Aside from sustainability, which will be learned rather soon, what more could a team ask for?
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.