Former Tennessee QB Joshua Dobbs signs 1-year deal with the Detroit Lions
Former Tennessee QB Joshua Dobbs signs 1-year deal with the Detroit Lions

Xavier Burton, Knoxville News SentinelMon, August 10, 2026 at 5:13 PM UTC
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Joshua Dobbs is now on his ninth NFL team in 10 seasons.
The Detroit Lions signed the former Tennessee football quarterback to a one-year deal worth $1.425 million, with $475,000 fully guaranteed on Aug. 9, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo on X. The move comes after 11-year veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater announced his retirement from the NFL in the midst of Lions training camp.
Dobbs, a 2017 fourth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers, spent the 2025 NFL season on the AFC champion New England Patriots backing up MVP runner-up Drake Maye. In his career, Dobbs has also been signed by the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers.
As a Vol, Dobbs started 35 of 37 games across four seasons from 2013-16, and passed for 7,138 yards, finishing with a 23-12 record as a starter. He owns the school record for most rushing yards (2,160) and touchdowns (32) as a quarterback, and totaled 9,360 yards of offense (62 receiving) during his tenure, the third most in program history behind Peyton Manning and Casey Clausen.
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Dobbs' most productive stretch in the NFL came under Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing when the two were with the Arizona Cardinals in 2023. While starter Kyler Murray was recovering from a torn ACL, Dobbs started the first eight games of the season, completing 62.8% of his passes for 1,569 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions.
Petzing was also his position coach in 2022 with the Cleveland Browns.
In 15 career starts, Dobbs has completed 62.8% of his passes for 3,346 yards and 17 touchdowns with a record of 3-12.
Xavier Burton is a sports intern for Knox News. Email: Xavier.burton@knoxnews.com
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Former Tennessee QB Joshua Dobbs signs 1-year deal with the Detroit Lions
Source: “AOL Sports”