Joshua Dobbs said the New England Patriots handled his exit in a way that was "very frustrating" after the team reportedly hoped to trade him first and then released him two weeks after the start of free agency. The quarterback, now with the Detroit Lions, said the timing stripped away the kind of offseason most players expect.
Dobbs made the comments on Tuesday while looking back on a stretch that left him training on his own instead of taking part in OTAs and the rest of a normal program. "It was a weird offseason because it was my first time not having OTAs and everything, and that was just by the nature of my situation in New England, with the timing," he said.
That mattered because by the time New England cut him loose, several teams that could have used a backup quarterback had already filled those jobs. Dobbs was not viewed as a key piece of the Patriots' future, with Drake Maye already entrenched as the franchise quarterback, so the issue was never whether the team would move on. It was when.
He drew a line between the decision and the way it happened. Dobbs said the frustration was not about New England choosing another direction, but about the delay that came with it. That delay left him waiting while the market closed around him, a poor fit for a quarterback whose value often depends on knowing a system quickly and being ready without much notice.
The 31-year-old has built a long career by moving from team to team, including stops with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers and Patriots. He had previously spent time in Detroit as well, and his quick adjustment in Minnesota in the 2023 season helped turn him into one of the league's better-known emergency options after Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.
New England's version of the story is already complete: it had a young starter, did not see Dobbs as part of its long-term plan, and waited until the offseason market had thinned before letting him go. Dobbs has now moved on to Detroit, but the sharper question is whether teams that delay that long can still claim the move was only business.
