Lions QBs Josh Dobbs, Luke Altmyer in race to be Jared Goff's backup

With less than a week to go before the Detroit Lions trim their roster to 53 players, the competition at backup quarterback has yet to be resolved.

Or at least coach Dan Campbell has given little indication regarding who he’s leaning toward.

Veteran Josh Dobbs and undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer have been in a race to be Detroit’s QB2 since the Lions signed Dobbs on Aug. 10, one day after Teddy Bridgewater’s sudden retirement. Altmyer has seen more action at practice, a product of his time within the offense — he’s been with the Lions since April — and his youth; Altmyer, 23, needs more reps than Dobbs, 31.

Dobbs, though, got the start in Detroit’s second preseason game, a 17-13 win over the Washington Commanders on Aug. 22. He rebounded well from a troubling first two drives (he fumbled before throwing an ill-advised ball over the middle that was intercepted), completing six of his final nine passes for 71 yards. Dobbs also wisely kept the ball on an run-pass option midway through the first quarter, leading to a 50-yard rushing score.

“Certainly, you don’t want to start the game the way we did,” Campbell said when asked about the performance of his quarterbacks versus the Commanders. “Now, that’s not all on (Dobbs), we didn’t pick up the protection the way we should, so he gets hit there.

“But he got out of it, and I thought that run was big, that’s something that he is capable of. That was a big third-down run for a touchdown. When he came back out in the second half … I thought Dobbs did some really good things.”

As for Altmyer, the former Illinois standout took four sacks but kept the ball out of harm’s way. He finished with nine completions on 13 attempts for 86 yards, with a couple of his best throws coming from outside the pocket, including one conversion on fourth down in which he connected with tight end Jackson Meeks.

“Altmyer, I still think he sees the field really well,” Campbell assessed. “There’s just a couple of things that got on him. It’s always going to be about, for him, just playing a little bit faster. Can he play faster? I know he can play faster. He just needs reps, and the more reps he gets, the better he is.”

“It wasn’t perfect,” Campbell added. “But I thought both of those guys did some good things, and there’s some things to clean up.”

On one hand, Dobbs entered the QB2 competition with the upper hand, given his experience. A fourth-round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2017 who’s spent time with nine different NFL teams, Dobbs has 15 starts in his career. He also has previous connections to the Lions, having spent a couple weeks with the team in 2022 and overlapping with new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing while with the Cleveland Browns (2022) and Arizona Cardinals (2023).

On the other hand, Altmyer has shown some encouraging traits, and he wasn’t the one turning the ball over against the Commanders. The fumble was primarily the result of poor pass protection. But the interception falls on Dobbs, who tried to make a play but forced the ball across his body and over the middle of the field, a combination of factors that rarely leads to success.

Still, Dobbs’ veteran savvy was apparent. He led both of Detroit’s touchdown-scoring drives, quickly shaking the inauspicious start.

“My personality, I’m pretty even-keeled,” Dobbs said. “No matter what happens, it could be a great play like the run or the second play of the game where it’s a fumble (and a) turnover, my mentality, my personality is to be the same no matter what.

“We’re the quarterback. I think a lot of guys look to us in our position, because the ball runs through us on offense. When you make a play, there’s still another play to be made. You throw one touchdown in a game, you’ve still got to come back and make plays to compete.”

Altmyer, to his credit, spoke like a well-experienced quarterback too, shifting blame away from his offensive line, saying, “There was some sacks I could’ve avoided today that I probably should’ve to keep us in field goal range.”

“I like to be coached,” Altmyer added. “I need to be coached hard. I need to be. Each play, there’s something to learn on, with the mechanics and operation, my feet, my drop, seeing the field and playing together as a unit. Get better, that’s the goal. The goal is not to achieve some result, the goal is to get better every single day.”

The Lions, assuming they keep only two quarterbacks on their active roster, will almost assuredly try to bring back the third option as a member of the practice squad. There’s no guarantee that player will return to them, however, as Altmyer will be subject to waivers, and Dobbs could land elsewhere, should a better opportunity present itself.

If all goes well, neither Dobbs nor Altmyer will have to play meaningful snaps for the Lions in 2026. But the team, with its decision between those two, will best prepare itself to withstand that possibility.

rsilva@detroitnews.com

@rich_silva18

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lions QBs Josh Dobbs, Luke Altmyer in race to be Jared Goff’s backup