Vikings trade for Cardinals QB Joshua Dobbs following Kirk Cousins’ season-ending Achilles tear in Week 8 against Packers

The Minnesota Vikings have the potential of selecting a top 10 draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Besides that, as Kirk Cousins’ contract is about to end soon, many fans and analysts thought they would unload their quarterback before the end of the season.

When the Vikings started this season with a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the speculation about his potential departure from the franchise was swirling in the air. However, the team didn’t have to bid adieu to him as he himself had to close down the season due to a season-ending injury. In his absence, the franchise has now decided to lean towards the Arizona Cardinals signal-caller Joshua Dobbs for the upcoming games.

Vikings trade for Cardinals QB Joshua Dobbs

As Cousins is done with his season, the Vikings traded for Joshua Dobbs, taking the chance of the Oct. 31 deadline. The franchise confirmed the news on their social media by welcoming him to the squad.

According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Cardinals traded Dobbs and a 7th-round pick to the Vikings in exchange for a 6th-round pick. Schefter also noted that there were conditions attached to the trade that might turn the 7th-round pick that the Cardinals sent to the Vikings into a sixth-round pick.

As the Arizona Cardinals signal-caller Kyler Murray started his 2023 season on the physically unable-to-perform list, the team let Dobbs do their quarterbacking job. The veteran started all eight games for the Cardinals and earned a lackluster 1-7 record before losing his spot to the rookie star Clayton Tune.

Dobbs went 167-of-266 passing for 1,569 yards while recording eight touchdowns, and five interceptions for an 81.2 passer rating. The QB was acquired by the Cardinals on Aug. 24 from the Cleveland Browns, and now, within a year, he is on the way to another destination.

Kirk Cousins suffers a season-ending injury in the last year of his Vikings deal

The Vikings picked up a win against the Green Bay Packers in their Week 8 game but they lost Cousins as he tore Achilles tendon, as confirmed by the team on Monday. The confirmation came after an MRI scan, and the franchise said the timeline and details of his upcoming surgery would be determined this week.

The 35-year-old sustained the blow in the fourth quarter of the match on a third down from the Packers’ 22-yard line while getting sacked by the rival’s defensive tackle Kenny Clark. To make matters worse, he is in the final year of his $35 million extension deal.

However, the Vikings’ head coach Kevin O’Connell didn’t shy from sharing the team’s mental state after knowing their QB’s injury update while heaping praise on his leadership on and off the field.

“Me personally, our whole team, our whole organization, we’re all hurting this morning for Kirk…Just knowing how much he’s invested into this team, and from a standpoint of his leadership and what he’s meant to every guy in the locker room and really what he’s meant to me since my arrival here,” he said via Barron’s.

Kirk Cousins ended his season getting tied for the NFL most TD passes with 18 touchdown passes while throwing for 2,331 yards (NFC best) with only five interceptions. Now, the Vikings will head to face off against the Atlanta Falcons for a Week 9 matchup without him.