Josh Dobbs’ sharp preseason makes for a difficult decision for the Steelers
For years, all we’ve heard is that the Pittsburgh Steelers must find Ben Roethlisberger’s heir. The chatter began when Big Ben himself prematurely hinted that his playing days may soon be over, a veiled shot at former offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who Roethlisberger didn’t see eye-to-eye with on a lot of things.
Rather than wait on Ben to come around with a final answer, the Steelers started preparing for a future without Ben. In 2017 they drafted Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs in the fourth round. Dobbs appeared to be a player the team could develop behind Roethlisberger and veteran backup Landry Jones, who was signed to a new two-year contract that offseason.
Fast forward a year later and Pittsburgh drafted another quarterback, this time Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph. Rudolph shook the foundation of those watching on draft day, because there were rumors that the Steelers were interested, but no one expected them to jump at the chance to grab a player many had a first-round grade on, but who fell into the third round after five other quarterbacks were selected early on.
The addition of Rudolph started the speculation on who would go: that is, which quarterback would the Steelers not retain as the thought is they will only roster three signal callers. Obviously, Ben Roethlisberger is going nowhere as the franchise QB and cutting Rudolph would make the draft day decision to move Martavis Bryant for the eventual pick leveraged to acquire the rookie look foolish.
Steelers Nation hasn’t been a fan of Jones, but that hasn’t prevented his own growth. Projected as a development player himself, Jones has grown into a role behind Roethlisberger as originally intended. He’s clearly not the future of the team at his age and experience level, but like Charlie Batch, he’s a veteran who can be called upon to keep the team in games when necessary. He also aids Big Ben on the sidelines and in meetings, as well as running scout team offense in practice.
That leaves Josh Dobbs as the odd man out, but the second-year pro isn’t going to make the organization’s decision easy. While both Dobbs and Rudolph have seen ample time through two preseason games thus far, it’s the former who has had the better showing of the two. Through those two games Dobbs has posted a composite 101.9 quarterback rating, going 21 of 31 for 283 and 3 touchdowns. He’s completed 67.7% of his passes but has thrown two interceptions.
The former Tennessee quarterback has also added his legs as a factor, rushing 7 times for 46 yards, two of which have resulted in first down conversions in third down situations.
However, Joshua Dobbs’ most impressive trait thus far has been leadership. In those pair of games, Dobbs has led five separate scoring drives for the Steelers offense. Against the Eagles, he led a 10-play and a 9-play drive, each spanning 75 yards. Two of his drives against the Packers also went a long distance, including a 9-play 80-yard drive and a 7-play 75-yard drive.
The lone “quick strike” was a 3-play 45-yard drive which ended with Dobbs connecting with rookie WR James Washington for a 19-yard touchdown.
That may not seem like much when you start thinking preseason football and fourth-string players, yet Dobbs has showed poise in each of these drives. He had to immediately return to the field after opening the second half of last week’s game with a pick six.
Lesser players may not have been able to mentally shake the mistake, but Dobbs responded with the 3-play drive to Washington: an instant answer if I do say so. His growth in such a short period of time will make the Steelers decision on who to roster behind Big Ben that much more difficult. Some are calling for trade offers for Dobbs or Jones, but likely suitors would be at the top of the waiver priority list (which is the same order as the NFL Draft) and wait for one or the other of interest to be released, rather than offer any collateral.
Placing Dobbs on injured reserve is another rumor, but he would have to be “injured” in order for that to occur and would miss much-needed time as a non-participant in practice sessions. That would hardly help his growth, and possibly even stunt it if he cannot throw a pass for months. (Ditto if they did the same with Rudolph.)
Another idea being floated around is putting Dobbs on the practice squad. While he’s eligible to do so, he would have to pass waivers first. If he did, there’s no telling when another team could come calling to poach the passer from Pittsburgh when their own quarterback situation falls apart due to poor play or injuries.
The soundest advice may see the Steelers roster all four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. It’s unconventional but not unheard of. In 1995 the Steelers retained four quarterbacks. Those four included veteran backup Mike Tomczak behind starter Neil O’Donnell, which came as a surprise following the second-round selection of Kordell Stewart, in and of itself a surprise after the team took Michigan State quarterback Jim Miller in the sixth round a year earlier.
That situation sounds familiar to 2018, where Dobbs was taken in the fourth round a year prior to Rudolph’s third-round selection this offseason. While Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert weren’t the respective heads of the team at the time, the Steelers have always been an organization which operates in much the same way year-to-year under the leadership of a member of the Rooney family.
Therefore, there’s hope for Josh Dobbs yet. His next two weeks of exhibition games may determine his final fate, but at this time, it may be more foolish for the Steelers to pass on having yet another capable passer in their stable in an NFL that appears to have a dearth of quality players at the quarterback position.
