The Disease That Caused Joshua Dobbs To Lose Hair

The Vikings clinched a breathtaking victory against the Falcons last Sunday, thanks to the last-minute heroics of Joshua Dobbs. With only 22 seconds left on the clock, the star QB found Brandon Powell for a 6-yard touchdown pass, regaining the lead by 3 points. He came to take over from rookie QB Jaren Hall, who suffered a concussion during the first half.

With this insane clutch, Dobbs has become a topic of discussion all around the NFL community. The 28-year-old QB, unfortunately, suffers from a disease called Alopecia Areata, a condition that has led to his hair loss. Before being traded off to the Vikings, he was a part of the Cardinals’ practice squad, where he shared his journey with the disease.

This disease is not very severe, but it can cause aggressive hair loss if the symptoms start early in childhood, which is precisely what happened to Joshua Dobbs during third grade. His hair did grow back when he was in high school but eventually faded during college.

According to NIH, Alopecia Areata is a condition where the immune system attacks hair follicles, resulting in hair loss, primarily on the head and the face. The course of this disease varies from person to person, and regrettably, there is no treatment for this condition. However, there are ways to initiate hair growth more quickly. This condition can affect people of any race or gender.

Joshua Dobbs Shares His Journey With an Alopecia Victim

Back in September, when the regular season was mere days away, Joshua had a heartwarming moment with a Cardinals’ cheerleader, who also suffers from Alopecia. The video was shared on the team’s X page (formerly Twitter), with a caption that read, “Guaranteed to give you all the feels 🥰”

Ellie, a new cheerleader recruit for the Cardinals, approached Dobbs on the field and promptly started to share her experiences with the condition. When the cheerleader revealed that she was diagnosed with Alopecia earlier this year, to which Dobbs replied, “Oh, so recently?” She then added that 85% of her hair was gone before her audition in May. Ellie decided to shave it all up and show up at the audition. When Ellie asked Dobbs about his journey, he said,

“So, mine started like third grade. My hear grew back, high school. And then in college, it just slowly started to fade,” followed by, “I would have to shave it, kind of randomly, sporadically. One day my razor broke…. And then my hair never grew back.”

Guaranteed to give you all the feels 🥰@josh_dobbs1 pic.twitter.com/YthHpoC9x9

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 21, 2023

The duo even shared a laugh with the razor story, as Dobbs claimed how it was the last straw for his hair to grow back, while Ellie labeled it as a “cannon event.”

With Kirk Cousins out for the season and Jaren Hall’s concussion last game, it’s highly likely for the Vikings Nation to see Joshua on the gridiron once again. In the matchup against the Falcons, the star QB accumulated 158 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 66 yards and added an 18-yard TD to his tally.