Blaine Gabbert

Blaine Williamson Gabbert (born October 15, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri before leaving early for the 2011 NFL Draft after his junior year. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round with the 10th overall pick.

Gabbert was born in Ballwin, Missouri. 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 8 TDs. 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 the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, 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 out of 13 passing attempts for 43 yards, and rushed 6 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 MU history, second only to Jeff Handy’s 480 yards against Oklahoma State in 1992. Gabbert was named to 2nd –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.). Gabbert achieved the 3rd-highest single season passing total in MU history, completing 262-of-445 passes for 3,593 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 9 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 2 touchdowns. Gabbert also went on to beat Colorado (17-29, 191, 2 TD) 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, 3 TD), and upsetting #1 Oklahoma (30-42, 308, 1 TD). That victory ended a seven-game losing streak against the Sooners, going back to 1998.

College stats

Jacksonville Jaguars

Gabbert attempting a pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In January 2011, Gabbert announced that he would forgo his senior year to enter the 2011 NFL Draft. New York Times blogger Matt Waldman ranked him as the number one quarterback prospect in the draft.

On April 28, 2011, Gabbert was drafted 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. On July 28, 2011, Gabbert officially signed his contract to play for the team. The deal was worth $12 million over 4 years.

2011 season

Though not slated to serve as starting quarterback, Gabbert quickly earned playing time after David Garrard was released in the preseason and Luke McCown performed poorly in the first two games. Gabbert played in his first NFL regular season game on September 18, 2011 against the New York Jets. He was then named starter against the Carolina Panthers the following week. At age 22, Gabbert became the youngest player in league history to start 14 games in a season. He played most of the season with a toe injury on his plant foot.

Gabbert struggled in his rookie season. He was sacked 40 times, third most by any quarterback in the league. He also fumbled 14 times, most in the league by a quarterback. His 50.8% completion percentage was second-worst in the league for passers with more than 200 attempts (ahead of only Tim Tebow's 46.5%). His 5.4 yards per attempt was last in the league among qualifying passers, as was his 65.4 passer rating. Football Outsiders calculated that Gabbert's 2011 season was "the fifth worst season we've ever measured" in aggregate value. Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com predicted that Gabbert’s potential remained high, and that many of his struggles could be attributed to injuries and the unfavorable circumstances around him, including a rush-centered offense, a lack of talented quarterbacks ahead of him, and a weak receiving corps.

2012 season

Gabbert threw for a career-high 260 passing yards in the Jaguars' 2012 regular season opener against the Minnesota Vikings, along with two touchdowns and a career-high 96.1 quarterback rating. Despite his performance, the Jaguars lost 26–23 in overtime. Gabbert struggled in the following weeks, including a loss to the Chicago Bears, in which he threw two interceptions and fumbled once. Both interceptions were returned for touchdowns and the Jaguars lost 41–3. Against the Oakland Raiders, Gabbert tore his labrum in his non-throwing shoulder during the second quarter, and was replaced by Chad Henne. Before being knocked out of the game, Gabbert threw 8–12 completions for 110 yards, including a 42-yard TD pass. The following week, while playing against the Green Bay Packers, Gabbert passed for over 300 yards for the first time in his career, and completed 27 of 49 attempts for 303 yards.

Gabbert was placed on injured reserve on November 21, 2012 officially ending his season. He was listed as having suffered a right forearm injury. The team cited in an official press release that Gabbert had also been playing with a torn labrum in his left shoulder that would require surgery.

2013 season

Gabbert returned for the 2013 season, but played only three games, finishing with just one touchdown and seven interceptions. He started the season nursing a broken thumb that occurred during a pre-season game. During the season opener, he suffered a lacerated right hand, which required 15 stitches and prevented him from playing the following week against Oakland. On October 6, in the third quarter against the Rams, Gabbert injured his hamstring, forcing him out of the game.

San Francisco 49ers

2014 season

Gabbert was traded to the San Francisco 49ers on March 11, 2014, for a 6th-round draft pick. Coach Jim Harbaugh made the following remarks about Gabbert joining the team: "I think he's a very talented player and his career so far hasn't gone on to be what he expected, and maybe others expected it to be. But I believe it can be a really powerful opportunity, powerful motivator for a player to say, 'It wasn't me, it was my situation.' And now he has that opportunity."

Gabbert with the 49ers

In Gabbert's 49ers preseason debut, he completed 3 of 11 passes for 20 yards with 1 interception.

Gabbert made his 49ers regular season debut on October 19, 2014, during the team's 42-17 loss to the Denver Broncos. He completed 3 of 7 passes for 38 yards and 1 touchdown.

2015 season

On March 10, 2015, the 49ers re-signed Gabbert to a two-year, $2 million deal.

On November 2, 2015, he was named starter for the 49ers after Colin Kaepernick was benched.

On November 8, 2015, Gabbert made his first start since October 2013, leading the 49ers to a 17–16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. He completed 15 of 25 passes for 185 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. On November 9, 2015, it was announced that Gabbert would remain the starter when the 49ers played the Seahawks on November 22. The 49ers lost 29-13, with Gabbert completing 22 of 34 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown with a 98.2 passer rating. With the 49ers down 20–13 to the Chicago Bears late in the fourth quarter on December 6, 2015, Gabbert rushed for a 44-yard touchdown. He then threw a 71-yard game winning touchdown to Torrey Smith in overtime for a 26–20 49ers victory. Gabbert finished the 2015 season with 2,031 passing yards with 10 touchdowns and 7 interceptions for an 86.2 passer rating. In 8 games as a starter, he had a 3–5 record.

2016 season

On September 3, 2016, Gabbert was named the starting quarterback for the season opener. After starting the first five games of the season, he was benched for Colin Kaepernick.

Professional statistics