With Drake Maye under contract, quarterback was not a pressing need for the New England Patriots heading into free agency.

And yet, the expectation was that the team would still invest in the position: with Jacoby Brissett headed out the door, New England had potential to add more experienced depth behind Maye and fellow sophomore QB Joe Milton.

The Patriots found just that in Joshua Dobbs, a journeyman who arrived in Foxboro as a veteran of eight NFL seasons and eight different organizations.

While his inability to find a permanent home and his low total of career starts (15) can be seen as negatives, the Patriots felt comfortable adding the 30-year-old on a two-year, $8 million free agency deal.

And not just that. As the details of the deal as first eported by Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston and additionally dissected by salary cap expert Miguel Benzan show, the structure of the contract effectively makes Dobbs a roster lock for 2025.

QB Joshua Dobbs: Contract details

2025:
Base salary: $1,700,000
Signing bonus: $1,050,000
Roster bonus: $425,000
Workout bonus: $75,000
Incentives: $2,000,000
Salary cap hit: $2,925,000

2026:
Base salary: $3,200,000
Signing bonus: $1,050,000
Roster bonus: $425,000
Workout bonus: $75,000
Incentives: $2,000,000
Salary cap hit: $4,750,000

Dobbs’ deal is similar to that of fellow Patriots free agency signing Mack Hollins: it is more of a one-year deal with the player having to earn the second over the next 12 months.

The veteran QB will get an opportunity to do that.

The 2024 portion of his contract, after all, means that he will get a chance to compete for the aforementioned Joe Milton for the No. 2 spot behind Drake Maye.

Dobbs’ entire $1.7 million salary as well as his $1.05 million signing bonus proration are both fully guaranteed. As a result, a release at the end of training camp, for example, would come with only minimal cap savings of $175,000 relative to a $2.75 million dead cap charge.

Stranger things have happened in the NFL, but all signs point toward him being part of the quarterback mix in 2025.

Whether he will be as QB2 or QB3 remains to be seen. He is compensated as the former, but his play on the field will determine where on the depth chart he and Joe Milton actually end up.