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, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2010. Gabbert was selected 10th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2011 NFL draft and began his career as their starter, but his tenure lasted only three seasons due to inconsistent play and injuries. Gabbert alternated as the starter and backup for the San Francisco 49ers during his next three seasons and spent the rest of his career as backup with the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Kansas City Chiefs. Gabbert was a member of the Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl LV and the Chiefs team that won Super Bowl LVIII.
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, Gabbert 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, he was listed as the highest ranked pro-style quarterback in the nation. Gabbert 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. Gabbert 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 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. Gabbert achieved the third-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, Gabbert had 3,186 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, and nine interceptions to go along with 232 rushing yards and five 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. Gabbert is the only quarterback chosen in the first round of that draft class to win a Super Bowl, although he was a backup player at the time.
On July 28, 2011, Gabbert officially signed his contract worth $12 million over four years.
Though not slated to serve as starting quarterback, Gabbert quickly earned playing time under head coach Jack Del Rio 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 against the New York Jets in Week 2. He was then named starter against the Carolina Panthers the following week. In Week 5, against the Cincinnati Bengals, Gabbert threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Jason Hill. 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 as a rookie. He was sacked 40 times, the third most by any quarterback in the league and also fumbled 14 times, most in the league by a quarterback. Gabbert's 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.
Going into 2012, Gabbert had a new head coach in Mike Mularkey. Gabbert threw for a then career-high 260 yards in the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings, along with two touchdowns and a career-high 96.1 quarterback rating. Despite his strong performance, the Jaguars lost 26–23 in overtime. In Week 3, a 22–17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Gabbert threw a career-high 80-yard touchdown pass to Cecil Shorts. 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 the labrum in his non-throwing shoulder during the second quarter, and he was replaced by Chad Henne. Before being knocked out of the game, Gabbert completed eight of 12 passes for 110 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown 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 in the 24–15 loss.
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.
Gabbert returned for the 2013 season under new head coach Gus Bradley, 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, Gabbert suffered a lacerated right hand, which required 15 stitches and prevented him from playing the following week against the Raiders. On October 6, in the third quarter against the St. Louis Rams, Gabbert injured his hamstring, forcing him out of the game.