The Detroit Lions had an intriguing quarterback competition between Josh Dobbs and Luke Altmyer during the 2026 preseason. Ultimately, the team got the best of both worlds with the experienced Dobbs on the 53-man roster as Jared Goff’s backup, and Altmyer on the practice squad as a developmental project.
But with that setup, concern remains according to A to Z Sports’ Mike Payton.
“The Lions may still try to find another quarterback, but this one feels off,” Payton wrote Tuesday. “No doubt about it, Luke Altmyer was not ready for that job, and that is not what I’m saying. I’ve been saying all summer that while Luke looks good at times, he is not ready to be a QB2.
Dobbs is more ready, but outside of the final preseason game against second- and third-stringers, I have not seen anything from him this summer that tells me if Jared Goff were to go down, Detroit would be kind of all right.
To be fair, that’s the case with a lot of NFL teams with their star quarterbacks. But with the consistent turnover in the quarterback room behind Goff in Detroit, Payton argued there could be a growing trend.
“It makes you start to think: this team is really good with Goff, but can this team find a quarterback whose name is not Jared Goff? Because Hendon Hooker wasn’t it, Kyle Allen was fine, Teddy Bridgewater was okay but retired, and now you’ve got Dobbs,” Payton wrote. “They struggle to find a backup quarterback. There are some good options out there right now, and I think the Lions should take advantage of that.
“If they don’t, I think it’s a huge mistake.”
Lions QB ‘Question Lingers’ With Luke Altmyer on Practice Squad: Analyst