PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The conversations are intense, at least among fans, about Mason Rudolph vs. Dwayne Haskins as the Steelers back-up QB this year or the potential player to take over when Ben Roethlisberger retires. What about Josh Dobbs?
Dobbs has more years in the league than Rudolph and Haskins. Is a Steelers draft pick. While circumstances vary, has performed better than other quarterbacks in his preseason opportunities. Calling the 4-6 for 37 yards and the lone touchdown pass in the Hall of Fame game, ‘a productive performance’.
“I don’t think the opportunity has been what I’ve been looking for,” Dobbs said. “I think my production and execution has been exactly what I can do. The goal is to control what you can with the opportunity given. I’ve done that. I’ve executed. I’ve played well at a high level in practice. I did it in again in the game. I plan on doing it going forward as well. I control what I can control.”
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said there is competition at all positions, but if that is the case why hasn’t Dobbs been in at all with better players?
“I just play the game,” Dobbs said. “Everyone that loves making their own hypothesis and their own conclusions on July 17. It’s a long month. We still have three more games. A lot of opportunities at Heinz Field to compete. I will take advantage of those opportunities. They can make their decisions at the end of the day, but I know the type of product I put on the field every day.”
“We all know how smart Josh [Dobbs] is,” said Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada. “His ability to make plays with his feet is probably something that is under (rated). You know, in practice you don’t get to appreciate any of it. He tries to talk about what is in a game situation, and he can run away and do things and he put the ball where it is supposed to be.”
“I enjoy Josh. I enjoy his football IQ and he certainly knows how to play the position very well.”
So again, why not an opportunity to truly make this team?
The best chance he would have had to show what he could do as a starter was in 2019. Dobbs beat out Landry Jones in 2018 to become the back-up quarterback. The next year he would lose that same battle to Rudolph. Just before the season started, the team traded Dobbs to Jacksonville for a fifth round pick. During the second game of 2019, Ben Roethlisberger went down for the year with an elbow injury.
“I was obviously tough,” Dobbs said admitting he was upset about the trade. “It was a whirlwind of an experience. To see the QB carousel that went on after I was sent to Florida. It was a tough year. When you go through that, it helps your mindset, your mental toughness. Helps you be ready for when your opportunity comes.”
Unlike many athletes, Dobbs knows what he wants to do when he retires. The 26-year-old aerospace engineering graduate from Tennessee spent the last two summers in the NFLPA’s externship program working with the NASA Kennedy Space Flight Center.
“I’ve been playing football for 21 years now, I don’t know a fall, an August or end of July where I’m not getting ready for a football camp,” Dobbs said about why he continues to play. “The competition, especially playing the quarterback position. You touch the ball every single play. Every time you step in the huddle your team has trust and hope that you will help take them down the field and score a touchdown. It’s the ultimate competitor’s sport. The ultimate competitor’s position.”
“I love stepping on the field each day. I love the thought process that goes behind playing quarterback. I love the physicality that goes behind it. I love the execution that comes with it. I love the pressure that comes with the position. I love everything about it. I just enjoy every time I get on the field and play this game.”
Even when he’s not on the field, Dobbs says he takes each snap as if he’s playing. Looking over the results of every play and then tries to provide that perspective to the other quarterbacks.
But he still, obviously, would rather be the one in the game.
“It’s frustrating, honestly not getting those reps,” Dobbs said. “At the end of the day, that’s what you do it for. You do it for the opportunity to go on the field and compete. When you are not always given the opportunities to fully show your capabilities. You are not really put in an ideal situation.”
“You have to maximize the ones that are in front of you and just wait for the time when you are getting the reps and put in those situations to succeed and play at the highest level.”
Not many teams have a fourth string quarterback with five years in the NFL. Will he get a chance to prove what he can do?