Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon declined to call Colt McCoy the team’s starting quarterback earlier this week and there’s now a new option under center in Arizona.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Browns are trading Josh Dobbs and a 2024 seventh-round pick to Arizona for a 2024 fifth-round pick. It’s the third trade of the day for the Cardinals as they sent linebacker/safety Isaiah Simmons to the Giants and offensive lineman Josh Jones to the Texans in other deals.
Dobbs was also on the Browns roster for part of the 2022 season, so he’s familiar with Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing as Petzing was on the Browns staff last year.
The move comes hours after Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Dobbs would be backing up Deshaun Watson with fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson serving as the third quarterback. The Browns also waived Kellen Mond on Thursday morning, but that move does not appear on the NFL’s transaction wire so the change in direction may have been a stay of execution for Mond.
Arizona opened the day with fifth-round pick Clayton Tune, David Blough, and Jeff Driskel joining McCoy on the roster at quarterback. Dobbs’ arrival will likely push Blough or Driskel off the roster and it creates further intrigue about who will be starting while the Cardinals wait for Kyler Murray to get cleared for a return to action.