It wasn’t that long ago that Blaine Gabbert’s career appeared dead.
When the 49ers traded with Jacksonville for the former first-round pick from Missouri in the spring of 2014, nobody believed he would someday be San Francisco’s starter. He’d crashed and burned with the Jaguars, going from future star to bust because of a string of injuries, lack of protection and horrible turnover problems. He left the Jags with a 5-22 career record as a starter and more interceptions than touchdown passes (24 vs. 22) in 28 games.
In his final season in Florida, he started just three games, threw seven interceptions – three returned for TDs – and completed only 49 percent of his passes before losing his job for good.
Now, two years later, head coach Chip Kelly is putting his faith in Gabbert, who beat out Colin Kaepernick for the starting job with the 49ers.
But, there are indications that the Blaine Gabbert of 2016 is far different from the Blaine Gabbert of 2013 and 2014.
After surprising many with a decent performance in 2015 as Kaepernick’s replacement over the second half of the season, Gabbert appears to be at home in Kelly’s fast-paced spread offense. In brief exhibition outings, Gabbert was 12-of-22 passing for 146 yards, a touchdown, no interceptions and a 90.3 quarterback rating. He also ran five times for 33 yards.
And, with a better offensive line in front of him in 2016, it’s possible Gabbert could improve even further in his surprising comeback from NFL oblivion.
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Certainly, he takes nothing for granted.
“I think the ups and downs that I had early on in my career as a young quarterback – nothng really ever went smoothly – have taught me to just keep my eyes on the process,” Gabbert recently told Peter King of Sports Illustrated’s Monday Morning Quarterback. “Think of the next throw. Don’t think about the stuff that can’t help you. What happened in Jacksonville helped me grow as a player and a person, and I wouldn’t change any of it.”
Gabbert believes Kelly’s system is tailor-made for his skill set. He’s eager to get it going for the 49ers’ regular-season opener Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams.
“This is such a fun system to be in because of all the things that we have going on,” he told King. “Throwing the ball, running the ball, making reads, making checks. It’s fun and he brings that mindset to work every day. “
Kelly likes Gabbert’s athleticism and the accuracy he’s shown in practice and preseason games. But he also believes the former Missouri star has the makeup to succeed this season.
“That’s one thing you like about Blaine’s makeup,” Kelly told reporters this week, after announcing Gabbert had won the starting job. “There are not too-high highs or too-low lows. He’s very steady in his approach. You get the same Blaine Gabbert every day, and I think that’s a good thing, especially at the quarterback position.”
