Tag: Blaine Gabbert

The Bucs’ biggest roster hole post-draft might surprise you

Scott Spratt of Football Outsiders talks about the Bucs’ biggest roster hole.

The Buccaneers are ready to take the league by storm in 2020, with a fresh new look and swagger about them. A statement like that has been more of a pipe dream over the past decade, but when you have a six-time Super Bowl champion like Tom Brady as your quarterback, the sky’s the limit.

But while Brady seemed to be the big winner when it came to the Bucs’ 2020 NFL draft haul, Scott Spratt of Football Outsiders says there’s still one major roster hole for Tampa Bay: backup quarterback.

Per Spratt:

“All of the Bucs’ eggs are in the Tom Brady basket, and though Brady is obviously skilled enough to shoulder that burden, he will be 43 years old in September. Last year, the Saints went 5-0 with Teddy Bridgewater as the starter when Drew Brees injured his thumb. The Bucs have the overall roster talent to do something similar if Brady misses time, but current backup Blaine Gabbert might not be up to the task. Gabbert has not improved his efficiency since his fall from grace as a former top pick, finishing with poor minus-25.4%, minus-26.4% and minus-35.5% DVOA rates from 2016 to ’18 before missing 2019 because of a dislocated shoulder.”

Gabbert missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, but had he been healthy it would’ve been interesting to see if he’d gotten the start at some point, especially given how much Jameis Winston struggled at times. Remember, the quarterback selected after Winston in the 2015 draft, Marcus Mariota, was replaced early last season by former first-round pick Ryan Tannehill, who led the Titans to the AFC Championship Game. Not saying Gabbert would’ve done the same, but he may have provided a little mid-season spark for the Bucs. If he can stay healthy, he’ll be a serviceable backup to Brady for sure.

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The Buccaneers have found their backup QB for Tom Brady

Find out who Bruce Arians and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers plan to use as Tom Brady’s backup quarterback.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have found their backup for quarterback Tom Brady, and it just so happens to be the same guy who was meant to be Jameis Winston’s backup last season.

Gabbert was brought in last offseason to backup Winston, but suffered a dislocated shoulder during a preseason game against the Cleveland Browns and was eventually placed on IR, missing the entire season. Ryan Griffin served as Winston’s backup, which probably explains why Winston was never benched.

Gabbert played for Arians in 2017 with the Arizona Cardinals, so it makes sense the coach would want to keep Gabbert around. As Rapoport notes, having another quarterback who is familiar with Arians’ system will only help Brady.

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NFL Draft: Of the 12 QBs chosen in 2011, one remains with the team that selected him

Cam Newton went first and Greg McElroy went last of the 12 QBs drafted in 2011. How did they all do in the NFL?

A dozen quarterbacks were taken in the 2011 NFL Draft. Cam Newton was the first, going No. 1 overall. With the exit from Carolina of Newton, Andy Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals, for now, remains the last quarterback to be with the team that drafted him in 2011.

New York Jets: Greg McElroy (Round 7)

 Elsa/Getty Images

Greg McElroy still has a home in football, in the broadcast booth. His NFL career consisted of one start, a loss, for the Jets who took him 208th overall. McElroy threw for 214 yards with a TD and a pick in his career.

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5 backup quarterbacks Jets should target in free agency

The Jets need a better backup behind Sam Darnold in 2020. Here’s a look at some available options.

Sam Darnold is the future of the Jets franchise, but for two years the team has not employed a backup quarterback capable of leading the team in Darnold’s absence. That needs to change this offseason after Darnold missed three games with mono a year after missing another three games with a foot injury. The Jets went 0-6 during those games without Darnold, and Joe Douglas should invest more money in the position as he begins to explore free agency.

There are some good options in free agency for Douglas to look at and bring in behind Darnold. They’ll look at quarterbacks with a good mix of experience, age and production that won’t cost more than $5 million against the cap in 2020. Yes, that’s a lot of money to pay a backup, but considering how poorly the likes of Luke Falk and David Fales played in 2019, it’s worth it.

Here are five backup quarterbacks the Jets should look at in free agency.

(Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports)

Case Keenum

Keenum should be No. 1 on the Jets’ backup quarterback radar. He’s experienced and productive enough to play in a pinch, but not a real threat to Darnold’s job and not so old that he couldn’t run an offense. Keenum, who recently turned 32, has 62 starts for six different teams in nine seasons and even lead the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC Championship game in 2017. During his career, he’s completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 14,368 yards and 75 touchdowns – including two 3,000-yard passing seasons as a full-time starter for the Vikings and Broncos from 2017-18.

The Redskins gave Keenum a one-year, $3.5 million deal in 2019; he’d likely command a similar contract this offseason. While not too expensive, that’s still $650,000 more than what the Jets gave Trevor Siemian and David Fales combined this past season.

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If Jameis Winston returns in 2020, he has Blaine Gabbert to thank

Jameis Winston could be back with the Bucs next season. But, would that be the case if Blaine Gabbert stayed healthy?

The regular season is winding down for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and at 7-7 they will miss the playoffs for the 12th-straight season.

But, the Bucs still have a lot to play for. If they win out, they’ll finish 9-7 for their first winning record since 2016. For a team that was 3-7 just last month, riding a six-game winning-streak into the offseason would be a great way to finish out the year.

For quarterback Jameis Winston, the past month has gone a long way in convincing the Bucs that he deserves at least one more year playing for Bruce Arians. While Winston has thrown a league-leading 24 interceptions, he also has 30 touchdown passes and is on pace to surpass 5,000 passing yards. And, after his 458-yard day against the Detroit Lions in Week 15, Winston became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 450 or more yards in back-to-back games. (He had 456 against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 14.)

Winston’s improved play over the past month has helped his case to remain the team’s quarterback. But, that may not have been the case had quarterback Blaine Gabbert remained healthy.

It’s easy to forget that Gabbert, a former first-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars, was signed in the offseason to be Winston’s backup. Gabbert had played under Arians during the coach’s time with the Arizona Cardinals, so he had a familiarity with the offensive system. But, Gabbert injured his non-throwing shoulder in the third preseason game and ended up on IR shortly after.

Had Gabbert not been injured, you have to believe that he would’ve gotten a chance at some point this season to relieve Winston. Let’s go back to Week 6 in London, for example. Winston ended up throwing five interceptions in a loss to the Carolina Panthers in what was easily the worst performance of his professional career. The Bucs went into the bye week before traveling to Tennessee to take on the Titans in Week 8.

That would’ve been the best time to have Gabbert replace Winston as starter. Gabbert would have had the bye week to prepare, and, best of all, he played for the Titans in 2018, meaning he likely had a good feel for what the defense would try.

If Bruce Arians was looking for a spark, that would’ve been the time to try and make a switch. Look what happened after the Titans replaced Marcus Mariota with Ryan Tannehill. The Titans went from the doldrums of the AFC to playoff contenders under Tannehill. While there’s no way to say that would’ve been the case for the Bucs if Gabbert came in, you have to believe Arians would’ve at least given him a shot at some point, given the way Winston has struggled at times. But, with Gabbert unavailable and the team unwilling to turn to Ryan Griffin, Arians stuck with Winston through the good times and bad.

And, as the past month has shown, that decision by Arians looks to finally be paying off.

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