In Week 9, less than a week removed from being traded from the Arizona Cardinals to the Minnesota Vikings in the final hours before the NFL trade deadline, Josh Dobbs was called on to step in for the Vikings after rookie Jaren Hall went down with a concussion. Now Dobbs was acquired to be the starter for the Vikes, a move Minnesota almost had to make after Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending torn achilles, but the expectation was that Dobbs would be eased into the starting job. Instead, he was unexpectedly thrust into action against the Atlanta Falcons, but sometimes diving into the deep end of the pool is the best way to learn how to swim, according to every old person who talks about how they learned to swim.

(From the sounds of it, parents used to haphazardly toss their children into pools and ponds and lakes and hope they would figure out a way not to drown. This seems outrageously problematic.)

Josh Dobbs did not drown on Sunday afternoon. With a performance so heroic that it has even been lauded by NASA, Dobbs kept his arms and legs churning, carrying the Vikings out of the deep water and propelling them right into the thick of the NFC playoff race. Among the many amazing wrinkles in this story, one that has only come to light recently was that Dobbs had no clue he was going to be traded in the lead up to the deadline. In fact, according to Dobbs, who sat down for an interview with The Torchbearers Podcast, he was even told by Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon that he would NOT be traded, even as the Cards were turning to rookie Clayton Tune.

“I go to the facility on Monday and JG (Jonathan Gannon), the head coach in Arizona, called me into his office and said, ‘We’re going to start Clayton Tune,’” Dobbs shared with the Torchbearers. He went on to explain, “Woke up Tuesday morning with a text from my agent saying, ‘You could be traded today because it’s the trade deadline.’ And listen to this — when I had my meeting with JG in Arizona, he looked at me in the face and he said, ‘You’re not getting traded, you’re not being released, you’re going to be here in Arizona’.

While this is not necessarily a great look for Jonathan Gannon or the Arizona Cardinals, the NFL is a business and Dobbs, a seventh-year vet who has already suited up for seven different teams, surely knows the the nature of the business. And if there's any sort of ill will he has towards the Cardinals organization, the fact that they've gifted him an opportunity to play for a playoff team in Minnesota should eventually ease the pain.