The Browns have their backup quarterback.
They know him well.
Joshua Dobbs agreed Monday night to a one-year contract to return to Cleveland. His agent, Mike McCartney, announced the deal on Twitter, and a league source confirmed it to The Chronicle-Telegram.
The deal is reportedly for $2 million guaranteed.
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Dobbs was signed by the Browns last offseason, won the backup job with a strong preseason and served as the No. 2 behind Jacoby Brissett while Deshaun Watson served an 11-game suspension. Dobbs was cut when Watson returned, then signed with the Tennessee Titans.
He started the final two games for the Titans — the first starts of his career and his first regular-season action since 2018. The Titans lost both to miss the playoffs, and he completed 58.8 percent for 411 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and a 73.8 passer rating. He rushed eight times for 44 yards.
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Brissett signed with the Washington Commanders last week as a free agent, and Dobbs returns as the No. 2 to Watson. Kellen Mond is also on the roster, spent all of last season as the No. 3 and didn’t play.
Dobbs, 28, is a good fit because he’s incredibly smart — he majored in aerospace engineering at the University of Tennessee — and has a similar style of play as Watson. Dobbs’ athleticism and running ability were on display in the preseason, particularly on a 36-yard run vs. the Eagles.
In three preseason games, he completed 66 percent with a touchdown, no interceptions and a 96.3 passer rating. He rushed six times for 57 yards and a touchdown and led multiple scoring drives in each game.
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“He is somebody who has worked very, very hard form the beginning when he walked in the door with us,” coach Kevin Stefanski said before last season. “Josh Dobbs has done a great job. He has done everything we have asked him to do, and I think his teammates recognize how hard he works.”
Dobbs was a fourth-round pick of the Steelers in 2017. He played in six games in his first two years, throwing 17 passes. He didn’t play again until the end of last season with the Titans.
The Browns signed him along with Brissett when Watson’s availability for last season was unknown. Dobbs impressed the coaching staff and teammates, earning the backup job. Brissett took every snap until Watson returned.
“My job is every time they put No. 15 on the field or in practice at the quarterback position is to go out and execute the game plan,” Dobbs said during the preseason. “I would say I am playing well. I am doing everything that I expect myself to do. I know if I do that, then I will be in the right position that I need to be.”
