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Dobbs, 28, has 2,920 passing yards in 21 games (14 starts) with 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in seven NFL seasons. He also has 91 carries for 496 yards and six rushing touchdowns and a 3-11 record overall as a starter.
Dobbs comes to 49ers as a well-traveled NFL veteran who most recently was with the Minnesota Vikings. But Dobbs isn't any ordinary NFL quarterback. Let's take a look at what to know about him as he begins his time with the 49ers.
The Joshua Dobbs "world tour" reaches San Francisco
The 49ers are Dobbs' eighth team since joining the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2017. Dobbs spent two seasons with the Steelers before being traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019, then landed back with the Steelers after being waived by the Jaguars in September 2020. Dobbs spent the 2021 season on injured reserve, then spent time with the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and Tennessee Titans in 2022. Dobbs' first career start came when the Titans played the Dallas Cowboys on December 29, 2022.
Things got particularly eventful for Dobbs in 2023. He signed with the Browns in March, then was traded to the Arizona Cardinals in August. After starting eight games for the Cardinals, Dobbs was traded to the Minnesota Vikings on October 31 after the Vikings lost quarterback Kirk Cousins to a torn Achilles. Dobbs drew raves from his teammates on November 5 after being unexpectedly called upon to play in place of then-starter Jaren Hall, who was forced to leave a game against the Atlanta Falcons with a concussion. Despite not having practiced with the Vikings and not being familiar with their offensive linemen or receivers, he led the Vikings to an improbable 31-28 win to keep them in the playoff hunt.
"[It was like] you're taking AP Spanish and someone told you you have an AP French exam on Sunday and you got to go execute," Dobbs said of the experience, per ESPN. "Someone's going to talk to you in Spanish and translate it to French."
Now Dobbs is with the 49ers, where he joins Brandon Allen as the backups behind Brock Purdy. If San Francisco isn't his last stop in 2024, well... he's used to moving around by now.
The world tour continues. 🚀
— Josh Dobbs (@josh_dobbs1) March 18, 2024
A prolific high school and college career
Dobbs has been a success throughout his sports career, in more sports than one. He was a standout baseball player at Alpharetta High School in Alpharetta, Georgia, with multiple colleges offering him a baseball scholarship. But football was where he made a bigger mark. Dobbs threw for 3,625 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior at Alpharetta while also rushing for 419 yards and 10 touchdowns. He threw for 3,113 yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior and was an All-State selection as a junior and senior.
Dobbs chose to play his college ball at Tennessee, where he started games in all four of his seasons. He posted a 23-12 record for the Volunteers with 7,138 yards passing, 2,160 yards rushing and 87 total touchdowns. Dobbs' career rushing yardage and touchdown (32) totals are school records, and his 9,360 yards of total offense ranks behind only Peyton Manning (11,020) and Casey Clausen (9,577) in school history.
He's pretty much a genius
Many football fans already know Dobbs' unusual off-the-field pursuits. Dobbs majored in aerospace engineering at Tennessee with a 4.0 GPA (he had perfect attendance in high school) and has continued to work towards becoming a rocket scientist while also maintaining his football career. Dobbs interned with aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney as a college student at Tennessee and has externed twice at NASA as an NFL player. It's not hard to see how he acquired his nickname, "The Passtronaut".
Dobbs' football intelligence was on full display when he had to come off the bench for the Vikings against the Falcons in 2023. Dobbs was so new to the Vikings' offense that he had to go through the cadence with the offensive line just before entering the game, but he managed to lead them to a win anyway.
This is video of said event on the sideline, going through the cadence with the line, before Dobbs goes into the game. Unreal. pic.twitter.com/Ke3HDRKnSu
— Reggie Wilson (@ReggieWilsonTV) November 5, 2023
"To try and describe just the degree of difficulty of what he pulled off, I think it speaks volumes about who this guy is," former NFL quarterback Rich Gannon told KARE-11 TV in Minneapolis.
He's outspoken about alopecia
As a boy, Dobbs was diagnosed with alopecia areata, a disease that causes temporary or permanent hair loss on different (or all) parts of the body. Dobbs regularly speaks out in support of those with the condition and has used his visibility as an NFL player to raise awareness.
"We had a lot of big games (at the University of Tennessee) and of course opposing fans would try to find ways to get in your head, but I took it with the position," Dobbs told AZCardinals.com in 2023. "There's ignorance in the world, but I always use my platform and who I am, and the position I play, to serve as the opportunity to share who I am and what it's like to have alopecia."
He's highly charitable
Dobbs started his own foundation in 2022 called The ASTROrdinary Dobbs Foundation, Inc. The foundation describes itself as "a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting, encouraging, and inspiring all members of our community, particularly the youth, through educational, economical, professional, and recreational empowerment."
Dobbs has been involved in a number of other causes throughout his career and in 2017 was given the honor of having an annual scholarship named after him by the North Atlanta Tennessee Alumni chapter. The scholarship is set up to help students from the North Atlanta area attend the University of Tennessee.
