We're a Drake Maye Injury Away From a Sam Darnold vs. Josh Dobbs Super Bowl

Maye is reportedly dealing with a shoulder injury. If he can't play, the Super Bowl would be a battle of two former Vikings QBs.

New England Patriots quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) throws the ball during a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, Dec 28, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ, USA. | Yannick Peterhans / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Much has been made of the fact that former Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold will be the starting quarterback for the Seahawks in the upcoming Super Bowl. It's also worth noting that there could be a world where both quarterbacks in the game are former Vikings.

Patriots QB Drake Maye, who had had an MVP-caliber second season in the NFL, is dealing with both a right shoulder injury and an illness at the moment. He's missed some practice time in the build-up to Super Bowl LX, though there's certainly still plenty of time for him to get ready to go. In the unlikely event that Maye can't play — or if he does play and then aggravates his shoulder issue — the Pats' backup is none other than Josh "The Passtronaut" Dobbs.

Dobbs, you'll recall, had a moment in the sun with the Vikings during the 2023 season, after Kirk Cousins got hurt and Minnesota needed to add a QB at the trade deadline. An injury to Jaren Hall thrust Dobbs into action less than a week after joining the Vikings, and he managed to lead them to a dramatic win in Atlanta with a three-touchdown performance. A week later, he threw for 268 yards and had two more touchdowns in a win over the Saints. Dobbs' unlikely run faded after a few weeks and he was eventually benched for Nick Mullens, but it was a fun story for a brief period.

Josh Dobbs in 2023 | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Ironically, those two Dobbs-led victories may have contributed to the Vikings' current quarterback mess. Had they finished 5-12 or 6-11 instead of 7-10, they would've had a better draft pick than where they ended up at No. 11. And that might have improved their chances of trading up for one of the top QBs in the draft instead of ending up with J.J. McCarthy as the fifth QB off the board. It's possible that the Patriots were never going to move out of the third pick and give up the ability to draft Maye, but who knows what might've happened?

Darnold, who had signed a bridge deal with the Vikings a month earlier, went on to help them win 14 games and reach the playoffs, although his season ended with two stinkers in the biggest games. And everyone knows what happened next. The Vikings let Darnold walk and botched the backup situation behind J.J. McCarthy, who had a disastrous debut campaign. Meanwhile, Darnold won 14 games again with Seattle and played the game of his life in the NFC title game against the Rams. He's four quarters of football away from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy this Sunday in the Bay Area. And former Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah no longer has a job.

Here's a (possibly incomplete) list of the former Vikings players and coaches on the two teams in this year's Super Bowl.

Seahawks

• Sam Darnold, QB
• Cam Akers, RB (practice squad)
• Shaq Griffin, CB (practice squad)
• Chazz Surratt, LB (injured reserve)
• Klint Kubiak, offensive coordinator
• Andrew Janocko, quarterbacks coach
• Leslie Frazier, assistant head coach
• Rick Dennison, run game coordinator/senior offensive advisor
• Karl Scott, defensive backs coach/defensive pass game coordinator

Patriots

• Garrett Bradbury, C
• Stefon Diggs, WR
• Josh Dobbs, QB
• Khyiris Tonga, DT
• Christian Elliss, LB
• Vederian Lowe, OT
• Trent Sherfield, WR (practice squad)
• Jaquelin Roy, DT (injured reserve)
• Todd Downing, wide receivers coach
• Mike Smith, outside linebackers coach

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