The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to a one-year contract with quarterback Joshua Dobbs, his agent announced Monday.
“Congrats @josh_dobbs1 agreeing to a 1 year deal with the @49ers,” agent Mike McCartney posted on X.
The 49ers are giving Dobbs a fully guaranteed $2.25 million deal for the 2024 season that includes another $750K in play-time incentives, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Dobbs will likely replace Sam Darnold as the 49ers’ backup quarterback behind starter Brock Purdy. Darnold signed with the Minnesota Vikings, the team with which Dobbs finished last season.
A career backup before 2023, Dobbs, 29, produced one of the NFL’s most unique stories last season, starting with his late-August trade from the Cleveland Browns to the Arizona Cardinals, who needed a short-term starter while incumbent Kyler Murray completed his recovery from a knee injury.
Despite arriving after training camp, Dobbs started the Cardinals’ first eight games, completing 62.8% of his passes for 1,569 yards and eight touchdowns. But he also committed 12 turnovers — eight interceptions and four fumbles — and the Cardinals lost seven of those eight games before Dobbs was benched.
The Vikings acquired him on Oct. 31 to be an emergency backup after losing starter Kirk Cousins (Achilles) and backup Nick Mullens, who was recovering from a back injury. Then, just five days after the trade and having taken no practice reps with the Vikings offense, Dobbs replaced injured starter Jaren Hall and led Minnesota to a wild 31-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. A 27-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints the following week, combined with his background as an aerospace engineering major at Tennessee, made him a national cult hero. A NASA official nicknamed him the “Passtronaut.”
But Dobbs lost effectiveness in the offense after that, and he did not play again after coach Kevin O’Connell benched him in the fourth quarter of a 3-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 14.
Combining his time with the Cardinals and Vikings, Dobbs threw for 2,464 yards in 12 starts. He committed 17 turnovers and his teams were 3-9 in those games.
Dobbs has played for four teams since being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a fourth-round pick in 2017. He has thrown for 2,920 yards, with 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert contributed to this report.