So what does KOC want in a QB for his offense?

What Now?

So, what does that mean? In the long term, this doesn’t mean much about Cousins. Dobbs is not likely to be a quarterback-of-the-future type player, or we wouldn’t have seen two teams trade him away.

On top of that, O’Connell seemed convinced that the Vikings would try to work something out long-term with Cousins. “Kirk Cousins is going to be healthy again,” he said. “I know he's going to be a free agent after this season, but Kirk knows how I feel about him, and that will be something that will hopefully works itself out.”

In the short term, Jaren Hall will be the starter. He will be tasked with the start against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, per head coach Kevin O’Connell and there is some possibility that Dobbs will be active but not expected to play outside of an injury situation.

“[We] thought it was important to make sure we solidified our quarterback room,” O’Connell said of the move. “Josh gives us an experienced player and has played some good football against some of the best defenses in our league. [He] brings a level of athleticism as well as great football intelligence. I've always loved his makeup.”

O’Connell stressed that the Dobbs move doesn’t automatically replace Hall once Dobbs has learned the offense. "I think it's important for [Hall] to understand that there's really no reason to have a 30,000-foot view of ‘what does this mean for my long-term career, my development and all those things.’”

He added, "This is about playing one snap at a time and doing your job, making sure that you effectively run our offense. And it's on us as coaches to put together a plan that gives him an opportunity to do that,” O’Connell said. “If we go about things the right way, there will be tremendous opportunities for growth on a play-to-play, drive-to-drive, and hopefully game-to-game basis that will allow us to watch Jaren grow before our very eyes."

That said, Dobbs is the rare quarterback who has picked up an offense shortly after moving teams and played at a reasonable level. Just two months ago, Dobbs was on the Cleveland Browns. Seventeen days after the Browns traded him to the Cardinals, he started against the Washington Commanders.

He’s a quick processor and can understand offenses quickly, but that doesn’t mean he’s fit for the Minnesota offense. The Cleveland offense is similar to Minnesota’s and shares lineage with Kevin O’Connell in the Shanahan/McVay tree, but his skillset demands a more college-style offense.

“This will kind of work if Minnesota is committed to running some RPO and zone read like Arizona was doing with him,” said Ruiz. This would allow the Vikings to have their dominant skill corps take over and could mean that they could cobble together an offense that can manage things while the defense continues to improve.


O’Sullivan mentioned the heavy college influence behind the Cardinals offense, too. And it’s been a big part of how Dobbs’ best games in a Cardinals uniform have looked.

For a lot of quarterbacks, and this may include Hall, moving to a college-style offense may be about simplifying reads. But for Dobbs, it’s about protecting the offense from itself. As Ruiz has said, Dobbs plays like a starter with the talent of a backup. He’s an ambitious thrower but doesn’t always have the talent to make good on his promises.

A smart offensive design will give Dobbs the tools to succeed but won’t give him too much rope.