Now that the 2021 offseason has begun, following yet another year of disappointment, a fourth consecutive season with no postseason victories, it’s time to take stock of where the Pittsburgh Steelers stand. Specifically where Steelers players stand individually based on what we are seeing over the course of the offseason as it plays out. We will also be reviewing players based on their previous season and their prospects for the future.
A stock evaluation can take a couple of different approaches and I’ll try to make clear my reasonings. In some cases it will be based on more long-term trends. In other instances it will be a direct response to something that just happened. So we can see a player more than once over the course of the season as we move forward.
Player: QB Joshua Dobbs
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: With the report that the Steelers indeed intend to retain Ben Roethlisberger for the 2021 season, it suddenly becomes that much more unlikely that Joshua Dobbs will be re-signed as he hits unrestricted free agency next month.
Though it’s the furthest thing from a surprise, now that we have some kind of acknowledgement from either camp that the Steelers plan to keep Roethlisberger at quarterback for this season, we can begin to take a look at where the dominoes fall as a result of that news.
For me, the most immediate and obvious repercussion is that it makes it extremely unlikely that the team will make any effort to re-sign Joshua Dobbs, a former fourth-round draft pick whom they have already traded once before bringing back last season.
Dobbs spent last season as the team’s number three quarterback, but with Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph returning, and the Steelers signing Dwayne Haskins, it would seem as though they already have the three top arms that they intend to move forward with, and whoever the fourth arm ends up being will come at a cheaper price tag.
That is, of course, unless they end up drafting one in the first or second round or so, and if Pittsburgh does have aspirations of doing that, it makes it even less likely that they would even look at re-signing Dobbs, even if he is a player who is routinely spoken of highly from his coaches and teammates.
It will be interesting to see if there is any kind of market for him, though I would expect nothing of meaning. There were rumors a couple of years back that teams were interested, and I believe the Raiders were one team named. The Jaguars liked him enough to give up a fifth-round. So we’ll see. I’m sure he’ll find a home somewhere.
