BEREA, Ohio — After cutting one of their backup quarterbacks earlier in the day, the Browns outlined their plan at quarterback even more, trading QB2 Joshua Dobbs to the Arizona Cardinals, a league source confirmed.
The Browns will send Dobbs and a 2024 seventh-round draft pick to the Cardinals in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round pick.
Earlier in the day, head coach Kevin Stefanski spoke about Dobbs, agreeing that it was safe to say Dobbs would be QB2 with the regular season approaching, but reiterating through different questions his belief in the room as a whole, not lingering too much on Dobbs individually.
”I’ve been very blessed to be around some great backup quarterbacks, some young guys, some old guys, different styles of players. I think it’s an important fit in that room. That’s why I’m so excited about our room in total, with everybody we have in there. Just can get a lot of work done," Stefanski said. "It’s a great room where they push each other, they challenge each other, they support each other and I think all of our guys fit that mold.”
The conversations were sparked by the move that happened Thursday morning, as the Browns cut backup quarterback Kellen Mond ahead of the roster cutdown to 53.
That move put rookie and fifth-round draft pick Dorian-Thompson Robinson in line to be QB3 behind Deshaun Watson and Dobbs.
A few hours later, Dobbs was traded to the Cardinals.
The trade of Dobbs shifted the plan to release Mond, who they are pulling off waivers to keep him with the team.
Sources indicate the Browns have no intentions of bringing in new faces at this time, meaning Thompson-Robinson has earned the spot of QB2 directly behind Watson, with Mond now in the QB3 role.
Thompson-Robinson has impressed the Browns through his preseason outings and growth through camp, and that will continue as his role increases with the season approaching.
"Just speaking to DTR, he’s coming along, he’s making great strides. We’re excited about his future. And just for the focus for him and for all our guys is just to continue to work," Stefanski said. "Going into week one, you look at your depth chart and you just want guys to continue to grow and get better because as you all know, there are times that guys are unavailable due to injury or otherwise. So, it is a constant striving to get better.”
RELATED: Browns cut QB Kellen Mond after strong preseason from Dorian Thompson-Robinson
The Dobbs trade also could save the Browns nearly $2 million in salary cap space—continued work to address the finances for next season. The Browns are nearing the $40 million mark under the cap for 2023, which they can choose to roll over to next year.
RELATED: Browns restructure TE David Njoku's contract, expand 2023 cap space to over $37M
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
