With training camp just days away, if the reality of being without Deshaun Watson for an extended period of time hasn’t sunk in for the Cleveland Browns, it will soon.
They’re still awaiting the NFL’s decision on whether to suspend him and for how long, although a rumor came out this week that he may only be suspended for six games.
Cleveland will have to figure out how to be competitive without him, and that will obviously start with who takes his place as its starting quarterback.
Barring something unexpected, it looks like Jacoby Brissett will be that man.
But who will be his backup while he is starting?
It will have to be Josh Dobbs.
Who Is Josh Dobbs?
A sizable number of NFL fans may not be familiar with Dobbs, as he hasn’t played a ton of games yet in the league.
He played a full four seasons at the University of Tennessee, and by his junior season, he started to emerge as someone who had pro potential.
That year, he threw for 2,291 yards and 15 touchdowns while leading the Volunteers to a lopsided win in the Outback Bowl.
In that contest, Dobbs notched 166 passing yards, as well as two rushing touchdowns.
He concluded his college career in 2017 with 2,946 yards and 27 touchdowns in the air, plus 831 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground while winning the Music City Bowl versus the University of Nebraska.
https://twitter.com/SECFootballVids/status/1429283969313484806
A few months later, the Pittsburgh Steelers took Dobbs in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
He didn’t play at all as a rookie, but he did get on the field for five games in 2018 when Ben Roethlisberger sustained a rib injury.
During that span, Dobbs’ numbers were scant: 43 passing yards on 12 attempts and 11 rushing yards.
Pittsburgh traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for the 2019 season, where he didn’t play a single snap.
Dobbs returned to PA in 2020 as a member of the Steelers, playing in just one game that year and going 4-of-5 for just two yards and running for 20 additional yards.
The Browns Will Be Living On The Edge
Brissett may be able to help the Browns tread water during Watson’s seemingly inevitable suspension, but what will happen if he gets injured or sick?
In that case, Dobbs would have to man the QB spot, and given his utter lack of NFL experience, it could turn into a disaster.
To prevent that type of scenario, Cleveland will have to make a move before the season starts to acquire an adequate backup for Brissett.
Jimmy G Anyone?
For the last several months, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been involved in numerous trade rumors, as the team wants to eventually hand the keys to Trey Lance.
The Browns have been mentioned as a team that could perhaps have interest in him, but more recently, it has looked like those rumors may be untrue.
"I, for one, love the idea. I think it makes all the sense in the world." – @Mark_T_Willard on Jimmy Garoppolo possibly landing with the Browns.
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) July 13, 2022
Could general manager Andrew Berry give Niners executive John Lynch a call not too long from now and attempt to make a viable offer for Garoppolo, a man who has led them to two NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl appearance in the last three seasons.
Perhaps it shouldn’t be expected, but stranger things have happened.
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