Steelers roster: Making the case for Josh Dobbs as the third quarterback

The Steelers have four quarterbacks and only three spots on the roster. Here’s why the third quarterback job should go to Josh Dobbs. 

The Steelers don’t know exactly what they will be getting out of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in 2021. Pittsburgh’s franchise quarterback former two-time Super Bowl champion took a pay cut in order to stay with the organization for one more season. However, his play faltered towards the end of the 2020 season and into the playoffs.

Big Ben is certainly in no danger of losing his starting gig, but the Steelers made an effort to add more depth this offseason. With just Ben and Mason Rudolph on the roster to start the 2021 offseason, Pittsburgh signed former Washington first-round, Dwayne Haskins to a low-risk one-year deal. Later, they re-signed Joshua Dobbs who had a brief stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars before returning to Pittsburgh last season.

We know that the Steelers aren’t going to go into the season with three quarterbacks on their roster, and at least one player will be cut and likely re-signed to the practice squad. Ben’s job is safe, and Pittsburgh just gave Rudolph an extension through the 2022 season.

What we have here is essentially a ‘two dogs, one bone’ scenario where Haskins and Dobbs are both fighting for the final roster spot as the third quarterback. While Haskins has some upside as a pocket passer, I think Dobbs offers move value to the team in this role.

Why Dobbs should be QB3 for the Steelers

I know a lot of fans like to bring up the fact that Josh Dobbs has now been in the NFL for four seasons and hasn’t produced any results. While this might be true, it’s because he really hasn’t been afforded to opportunity to prove himself at all.

Haskins is a failed first-round pick who has already been given the opportunity to sling the ball 444 times during the regular season since entering the NFL in 2019, according to Pro Football Reference. With this many looks, the big quarterback hasn’t shown much of anything, and he did worse in his second season than he did as a rookie. Haskins played enough for The Football Team to get himself buried on the depth chart before ultimately being released (and his questionable character issues didn’t help).

On the other hand, Josh Dobbs has been able to throw the ball just 17 times in the regular season. This is hardly a big enough sample to judge him on, and if either of these players deserves to see the field again in a large capacity, it should be the player who hasn’t gotten a chance to prove himself, rather than the one who has only proved he’s not very good.

In addition, Dobbs offers significantly better athletic traits than Haskins. In a pinch, he could run Matt Canada’s offense and help manage the game with his legs; whereas the Steelers more or less already have the same player as Dwayne Haskins in Mason Rudolph.

Dobbs also has a squeaky-clean record off the football field, as is known for his outstanding character and leadership. Ben Roethlisberger has voiced that he loves having him around. The brilliant young quarterback (who is also a certified aerospace engineer) was even credited for dialing up some successful touchdown plays in the red zone last year. In addition, Dobbs offers a comparable scout team quarterback who can help the defense get ready to face mobile quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen.

The fact of the matter is that neither Dobbs nor Haskins is likely to see the field much in 2021 unless some big injuries occur. Still, I can make a strong case as to why the Steelers should go with the more athletic quarterback who hasn’t had as many opportunities to showcase what he can do yet in the NFL.