The Minnesota Vikings are turning the ball over to Josh Dobbs with limited options at quarterback heading into Week 10.
Dobbs, who was picked up by the Vikings in a trade with Arizona at the deadline, got into Minnesota’s Week 9 win over the Atlanta Falcons after rookie Jaren Hall suffered a concussion.
Hall is in concussion protocol and Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters on Monday that Dobbs will start against the New Orleans Saints.
Veteran Sean Mannion is expected to back Dobbs up, but would need to be elevated from the practice squad in order to be eligible to do so.
As of now, according to O’Connell there is no plan to bring in another quarterback before next weekend.
“I thought what he did was remarkable,” O’Connell said about Dobbs’ performance, according to ESPN. “But there’s a lot of things that we’ll coach him through and get him a little bit more comfortable in what we do.”
Dobbs got off to a rocky start against the Falcons, being sacked for a safety and fumbling the ball twice.
However, he turned things around and recorded 224 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns.
The Vikings have been light on quarterbacks with Kirk Cousins sidelined with a torn right Achilles tendon and backup Nick Mullens still recovering from a back injury.
Mullens became eligible to have his 21-day practice window opened on Monday, but O’Connell said there isn’t a timetable to get him back onto the field.
Dobbs has shown that he can help lead the Vikings to a win and has given the coaching staff the confidence to turn to him again next weekend.
Hopefully, by then, Dobbs will have his new team’s system committed to memory a bit more.
“It’s like if you were taking Spanish all year,” Dobbs told reporters on Sunday about learning a new system, per the StarTribune. “You showed up on Wednesday and someone told you you’re taking AP Spanish, and someone told you you have an AP French exam on Sunday. Someone’s going to speak to you in Spanish and you’re going to have to translate it into French.”
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