Vikings trade for Cardinals QB Josh Dobbs following Kirk Cousins' season-ending injury

Josh Dobbs won’t get the start for the Arizona Cardinals this week, but he has a chance to suit up for the Minnesota Vikings.

The Cardinals are trading Dobbs and a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Vikings in exchange for a 2024 sixth-rounder, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported on Tuesday. The teams have since announced the trade.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said on SiriusXM that rookie Jaren Hall is likely to start against the Atlanta Falcons, but there is a shot Dobbs could play.

The trade comes a day after Minnesota announced quarterback Kirk Cousins was lost for the season to a torn Achilles, and is a declaration the Vikings aren’t willing to go gently into the rest of their campaign. With Cousins having lifted them to three straight victories, the Vikings are 4-4 and very much alive in a wide-open NFC playoff race.

Dobbs being traded — for the second time this year — shouldn’t be all that surprising after Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon’s peculiar about-face on Monday. Following Arizona’s Week 8 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Gannon announced Dobbs would start again in Week 9, but he reversed course on Monday and announced the returning Kyler Murray or rookie Clayton Tune would start versus the Cleveland Browns. The Cardinals gave up a fifth-round pick for Dobbs earlier this season but are getting a sixth in return eight games and little more than two months later.

Dobbs was anointed as the No. 2 quarterback on the Browns’ depth chart this offseason. However, the Cardinals came calling and acquired him to be their starter with Murray on the mend. A week before he would’ve played his previous squad, Dobbs is on the move again.

Dobbs has struggled as of late, fumbling in five straight games (eight on the season) and throwing interceptions in three of his last four. However, he has become seemingly an expert at being a quick fix for teams. The 28-year-old made his first career NFL start last season for the Tennessee Titans, who chose to go with the veteran journeyman over a then-rookie Malik Willis. This year, he was thrust into the starting role for the Cardinals and now has a shot to provide the Vikings with an experienced hand in the aftermath of Cousins’ unfortunate injury.

On the season, Dobbs has thrown for 1,569 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions.

He’s now headed from the NFL’s worst team record-wise to a second-place squad boasting a talented receiving corps that could welcome back Justin Jefferson (hamstring) off injured reserve in a few weeks. The Vikings also weren’t done making deals on Tuesday, shipping offensive lineman Ezra Clevelandto the Jacksonville Jaguars.

O’Connell and Co. can’t replace Cousins and the Pro Bowl level he was playing at, but they’re doing their best to stay in postseason contention.