After a strong outing in his first preseason game with the New England Patriots, former Tennessee football quarterback Josh Dobbs had another successful game on Saturday. In the Patriots’ 20-12 win over the Vikings, Dobbs was the leading passer for New England in the game.
He finished 11-for-16 through the air with a touchdown. He was not sacked and did not throw any interceptions in the game. His touchdown strike was to Efton Chism who muscled his way into the end zone to help Dobbs’ stat line.
According to PFF, Dobbs had the sixth-best grade of the 37 Patriots who got an offensive snap in the matchup. He graded out at a 78.4 mark, including a 76.8 grade in the pass game.
Chism with 6 to put the Pats up!
📺: WBZ pic.twitter.com/zWsWVls2E4
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 16, 2025
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This will be Dobbs’ first season with the Patriots and the ninth team in his NFL career. He was initially drafted by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2017 draft after his Vols career. He played in Pittsburgh from 2017-19 before being traded to the Jaguars.
In 2020, the Steelers picked Dobbs back up off of waivers. He signed a deal that kept him there through 2021. In 2022, he began with the Browns before joining the Lions practice squad and then the Titans, where he started the final two games of the season.
In 2023, Dobbs went back to the Browns before he was traded to the Cardinals, where he started multiple games. He was then traded to the Vikings, where he also started. 2024 gave him some stability in a year where he spent the entire season with the 49ers, alongside former college teammate Jauan Jennings.
Now, he’s starting the year with the Patriots. In his career, he has produced 3,281 passing yards on a 62.7% completion percentage. He has thrown for 17 touchdowns and rushed for eight more, but has thrown 15 interceptions.
In college, Dobbs proved to be one of the best quarterbacks in the country by the end of his career. He was a Second-Team All-SEC member in 2016, his final season with the Vols.
In 2013, Dobbs started in four games and appeared in five. He wasn’t named the starter to start the following year, but pushed his way into the position by the end of the season.
He entered 2015 as the team’s starter and put together another strong season. In 2016, he was once again the starter in his final year of eligibility, leading Tennessee to notable wins over Florida (despite a large deficit) and Georgia (on a Hail Mary to Jennings).
In his college career, Dobbs threw for 7,138 yards, 53 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. He also ran for 2,160 yards and 34 touchdowns.
