Joshua Dobbs

Robert Joshua Dobbs (born January 26, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Dobbs became the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals for the 2023 season following an injury to Kyler Murray. At the trade deadline that season, he was traded to the Vikings following an injury to Kirk Cousins. Early years Dobbs was born and raised in Alpharetta, Georgia, the son of Stephanie and Robert Dobbs. His mother retired from United Parcel Service (UPS) as a region manager in corporate human resources, and his father is a senior vice president for Wells Fargo. Dobbs has alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease causing hair loss, which first developed when he was transitioning from elementary to junior high school. Dobbs started playing football when he was five years old. He attended Wesleyan School and then Alpharetta High School. As a senior with the Alpharetta Raiders football team, he threw for 3,625 yards with 29 touchdowns. Dobbs was a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and a four-star by Scout.com. He originally committed to Arizona State University to play college football, but in February 2013, he changed his commitment to the University of Tennessee. Dobbs majored in aerospace engineering during his time at the University of Tennessee. The university presented him with the 2017 Torchbearer Award, the highest honor for an undergraduate student, which recognizes accomplishments in the community and academics. Dobbs was heralded as possessing a perfect 4.0 grade point average and being named to the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll.