Blaine Gabbert

Blaine Williamson Gabbert (born October 15, 1989) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for the Missouri Tigers, receiving second-team All-Big 12 honors, and was selected 10th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2011 NFL draft. Gabbert began his career as the Jaguars' starter, but inconsistent play and injuries led to his departure after three seasons. He spent his next three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, where he saw his last significant playing time. For the remainder of his career, Gabbert served as backup for the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Kansas City Chiefs. As a backup, he won two Super Bowl titles, one with the Buccaneers and one with the Chiefs.

Gabbert was born in Ballwin, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. He attended Parkway West High School in Ballwin, where he played for the Parkway West Longhorns high school football team. He was a five-star blue-chip All-American and, according to Rivals.com, was their No. 14 national player overall at any position. He was invited to participate in the Elite 11 quarterback camp in the summer of 2007 where he won the camp MVP honors over Andrew Luck and then, in January 2008, he played in the US Army All-American Game. He recorded 623 passing yards and five touchdowns as a senior, despite an injured foot that limited him to four games. As a junior, he posted 1,523 yards and 20 touchdowns (on 119-of-231 passing) and also added another 458 yards rushing and eight touchdowns. In his sophomore season, he threw for approximately 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns as a first-year starter.

Coming out of high school in 2008, Gabbert was considered a major college recruitment prospect. Rated as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Gabbert was listed as the highest ranked pro-style quarterback in the nation. He initially gave a verbal commitment to Nebraska, but rethought his decision after head coach Bill Callahan was fired. He eventually committed to the University of Missouri. Missouri coach Gary Pinkel decided not to redshirt Gabbert his freshman year, but instead play him as the third-string quarterback behind Chase Daniel and Chase Patton. He saw action in five games in reserve duty, leading the Tiger offense to a touchdown against Colorado and a field goal against Nevada. He completed 5-of-13 passing attempts for 43 yards and rushed six times for 22 yards.

Gabbert had a strong debut in 2009, throwing for 313 yards with three touchdowns in the air and another one on the ground against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the annual Arch Rivalry. He set career highs with 30 completions (30 for 51) and 468 yards against Baylor. The 468 yards were the second-best single-game mark in school history, second only to Jeff Handy's 480 yards against Oklahoma State in 1992. Gabbert was named to second–Team All-Big 12 honors by multiple league media outlets, and he was also granted honorable mention for all-league honors from the AP after ranking 2nd in the Big 12 (29th in the NCAA) in passing efficiency (140.45 rating). Gabbert ranked 4th in the Big 12 and 11th in the NCAA in total offense (292.08 avg.). He led the Big 12 with 8.1 passing yards per attempt. He achieved the 3rd-highest single-season passing total in school history, completing 262-of-445 passes for 3,593 yards, 24 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He was also recognized for his success in the classroom and named to the 1st-Team Academic All-Big 12.

In 2010, Gabbert led Missouri to a season-opening 23–13 victory over Illinois. He threw for 34 passes on 48 attempts, with 281 yards and two touchdowns. Gabbert also went on to beat Colorado (17/29, 191, two touchdowns) despite being sidelined with an injury in the fourth quarter. Other highlights of the season include beating Texas A&M on the road (31/47, 361, three touchdowns), and upsetting #1 Oklahoma (30/42, 308, one touchdown). That victory ended a seven-game losing streak against the Sooners, going back to 1998. Overall, in his last season with the Tigers, he had 3,186 passing yards, 16 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions, 232 rushing yards, and five rushing touchdowns.

In January 2011, Gabbert announced that he would forgo his senior year to enter the 2011 NFL draft.

Gabbert was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft with the 10th overall pick. Jacksonville traded up six spots with the Washington Redskins to select Gabbert. He was the third quarterback to be selected that year, behind Cam Newton and Jake Locker. He is the only quarterback chosen in the first round of that draft class to win a Super Bowl.

On July 28, 2011, Gabbert officially signed his contract to play for the team. The deal was worth $12 million over four years.