Grading the Arizona Cardinals' most important trades in 2023

3 - Acquiring Josh Dobbs for a 2024 fifth-round pick

Josh Dobbs may have had the strangest tenure for any quarterback to start for the Arizona Cardinals. Acquired from the Cleveland Browns in August, the Cardinals named him the starting quarterback just to trade him away to the Minnesota Vikings just eight weeks later. Did Monti Ossenfort accrue enough value to justify trading a fifth-round pick for him?

Although Dobbs had a couple weeks where he looked very impressive, he for the most part performed like a replacement level quarterback. 1,500 passing yards, eight touchdowns, and five interceptions are an inoffensive but unremarkable stat line. After trading away Josh Dobbs after just one win and eight weeks, it begs the question if the Arizona Cardinals could have found another quarterback without sacrificing a fifth round pick.

There are lots of quarterbacks who could have been candidates for holding down the fort until Kyler Murray’s return. One example being PJ Walker, who was a free agent with a similar skill set to Josh Dobbs who was available after being released by the Chicago Bears.

Unlike many of the other free agent quarterbacks, he is a player who would have accepted his role as a bridge quarterback without causing drama. It is difficult to ascertain what exactly Monti Ossenfort was looking for with Josh Dobbs to give up a draft pick just to trade him away a short time later.

This is a trade that Monti Ossenfort lost. Ultimately, it is not that much of a consequence since it is only a day three selection that was lost but the hope is that Ossenfort engages in future deals with a clearer purpose.    

Grade: C-