Vikings acquire QB Josh Dobbs ahead of NFL trade deadline, send Cleveland to Jaguars

The Minnesota Vikings are bringing in another quarterback ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline on Tuesday afternoon, per Twin Cities affiliate KSTP.

A day after the team confirmed quarterback Kirk Cousins suffered a torn Achilles tendon in Sunday’s win over the Packers, the Vikings acquired Joshua Dobbs from the Arizona Cardinals, who are 1-7 on the season and expected to get Kyler Murray back soon. ESPN’s Adam Schefter says the Vikings gave up just a sixth-round pick and will also get a seventh-rounder back from Arizona along with Dobbs, making it a very low-cost move. The teams have since confirmed.

Dobbs has started all eight games for Arizona this year, throwing for 1,569 yards and 8 touchdowns with 5 interceptions while completing 62.8% of his passes. He also started two key games down the stretch for Tennessee last season, throwing for 411 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

The seven-year veteran at least gives the Vikings another option at quarterback in case rookie Jaren Halls struggles or gets injured. Veteran Nick Mullens, who has been dealing with a back injury for weeks, is eligible to come off injured reserve next week but it’s unclear if he will be ready that soon.

While Cousins is expected to miss the rest of the season and could have played his final snap in a Vikings uniform, the team also has several other impending free agents that could be dealt before Tuesday’s deadline, including star edge rusher Danielle Hunter.

One of those players — guard Ezra Cleveland — was dealt to Jacksonville for a sixth-round pick. Cleveland had missed two games due to a foot injury, opening the door for Dalton Risner, who signed with the team earlier this season.

Cleveland, 25, was picked in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Vikings and played in 51 games since then, starting 47 of them. Instead of keeping him for depth the rest of the season in case of injury or more struggles along the offensive line, or trying to continue negotiations to bring him back next season, the team opted to ship him to the Jaguars for a minimal return.

As of Tuesday, the Vikings (4-4) sit two games behind Detroit in the NFC North race but would currently be in the playoffs as the seventh seed.

Minnesota is back in action Sunday afternoon in Atlanta against the Falcons.

WDIO will update this story as more information becomes available.