Upon the news quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was leaving the team and retiring, the Detroit Lions pivoted quickly to sign Josh Dobbs. With his brief time on their practice squad a few years ago, and some history with offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, he is the ideal replacement for Bridgewater as a veteran backup to Jared Goff.
Of course Dobbs hasn't participated in a football practice in quite a while, so he's being ramped up fairly slowly. Some very light work on Monday was followed by a little more during the team period of Tuesday's session, as the team had their final practice before Thursday night's preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.
With Jared Goff not playing, it is set to be a whole lot of undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer under center for the Lions against the Bengals. After Tuesday's practice Dobbs said he hopes to play some in the game, but he would find out with everyone else when the time comes.
Josh Dobbs only needed 1 practice to take the reigns of the QB2 battle
Every reporter on the ground at Tuesday's practice lauded Dobbs' first throw of the session, a long one to wide receiver Cedrick Wilson that was a well-placed toss and a great catch all at once. He was on the field until the offense reached the red zone, then Altmyer came in to finish the series.
Why? Because Dobbs had been around for all of about 30 hours at that point, and he didn't know the red zone plays yet.
"I wanted (to stay in), but Drew said we haven’t even installed red zone, so he didn’t have anything to call,” Dobbs said, via Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit. “So it’s a little tough once you get to the 6-yard line and you don’t know the red zone plays yet, but I was just like, ‘Just call a fade, and they’ll figure it out.’
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While Altmyer would be a great story if he were to win the the Lions' No. 2 quarterback job, having him be one bad play for Goff away from being thrown into the proverbial fire wouldn't be ideal. Dobbs brings much-needed experience to the equation, and unlike Bridgewater he has started a regular season game since 2022 (13 to be exact).
If nothing else, the Lions seem to have finally learned you're allowed to have an experienced backup quarterback who can actually play. Dobbs being available in mid-August was some good fortune, after the concept of Bridgewater went away, and he made an immediate impression during his first real practice work with the team.
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