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Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell jumped at the chance to acquire quarterback Josh Dobbs from the Arizona Cardinals ahead of the NFL trade deadline.
“I didn’t know he’d be available, and then [the Cardinals] made that move [to bench him] and I was like, This is a guy,” he said to The MMQB’s Albert Breer. “I just wanted to see him around this team in this locker room, be able to coach him, be able to call plays for him and see if we can potentially put him in a great situation and then let him just go play.”
Jaren Hall started Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons in place of Kirk Cousins, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. But a concussion to Hall thrust Dobbs to the fore. He finished 20-of-30 for 158 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-28 victory.
Dobbs’ six-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Powell with 22 seconds remaining was what decided the outcome.
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O’Connell praised how quickly the 28-year-old adjusted to his new surroundings.
“I would say you need to have composure; you need to be intelligent,” he said to Breer. “And beyond all that, I mean I was talking to him a lot, to be able to digest the information that I’m giving to him in real time, and be able to function and still go play quarterback, some of the plays he made, some of the throws he made means doing it all for the first time in an NFL game, on the road against a really good defense … that’s the reason why Josh was one of those guys that I immediately … it hit my brain to get him.”
Even before the injury, Cousins’ long-term future in Minnesota was in serious doubt due to his impending free agency. His absence now presents an opportunity for the Vikings to evaluate their internal options.
Perhaps Dobbs will continue to impress O’Connell and the coaching staff and make a compelling case to have the inside track for the starting job in 2024.
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