The Vikings might have found their potential Kirk Cousins replacement just hours ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
Minnesota is acquiring Joshua Dobbs from Arizona, NFL Media reported. The Vikings and Cardinals are swapping late-round picks in the move, with Arizona receiving a sixth-round pick while Minnesota will get a seventh-round pick, the teams confirmed.
The Vikings’ decision to add Dobbs comes in the wake of Cousins suffering a season-ending Achilles injury in their win over the Packers on Sunday. An MRI found on Monday confirmed that Cousins ruptured his Achilles.
While the Vikings lost one of the league’s top passers for the season (Cousins was in the top two for passing yards, touchdowns and passer rating), they still have some playoff hopes. Their win on Sunday improved their record to 4-4 and was their third win in a row, moving them into the final playoff spot in the NFC.
It’s unclear if Dobbs will be the Vikings’ starting quarterback, but as of Monday, fifth-round rookie Jaren Hall was the only other healthy quarterback on Minnesota’s active roster. Hall played the remainder of Sunday’s game after Cousins went down in the fourth quarter, completing 3-of-4 passes for 23 yards in his first-ever NFL action.
In addition to Dobbs and Hall, the Vikings are expecting Nick Mullens to return from injured reserve sometime in November after he recovers from a back injury. Minnesota also recently signed journeyman Sean Mannion to its practice squad and worked out Colt McCoy prior to Cousins’ injury.
Dobbs put up mediocre numbers filling in for Kyler Murray, out since last year with an ACL injury, for the first half of the season. Dobbs completed 62.8% percent of his passes for 1,569 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions with an 81.2 passer rating, adding 258 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
However, the Cardinals went 1-7 with Dobbs under center, causing him to lose his starting job even though Murray may not be ready to play. Cardinals coach Josh Gannon told reporters Monday that fifth-round rookie Clayton Tune will start for the Cardinals against the Browns on Sunday.
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