Blaine Gabbert Will Be Given “Fair Chance” To Win Jaguars Starting Job
By Josh Hill
The Jacksonville Jaguars were rumored to have been interested in West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith but after passing on him twice in the NFL Draft, it appears as though the team is ready to roll with what they have at quarterback. It may not be the flashiest bunch, but according to Yahoo! Sports, Blaine Gabbert will be the man leading the charge for the Jags in 2013, or at least he’s going to get a fair chance to do so.
“We’re going to give everybody a fair chance to see who can win the job and whether that person is the long-term solution,” Caldwell said, via Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports.
Gabbert has been under some criticism lately, specifically by fans who want Tim Tebow to be the team’s quarterback in 2013. While choosing a punt protector to be your quarterback over Gabbert is a foolish idea, the Jaguars front office seems to be not at all interested in becoming the next ring in the traveling Tebow circus.
Despite the petitions from fans and the involvement of a politician, the Jaguars will not be signing Tebow this offseason as it makes little to no sense for them to do so. Tebow is beyond unproven as a starter, despite what the punt protectors minions might argue otherwise. Beyond Tebow, there’s the case for the 2014 NFL Draft which will contain potential top picks like Tajh Boyd, Teddy Bridgewater, Derek Carr, David Fales and possibly even Tebow copy cat Johnny Manziel.
If it came down to it, despite the Gainesville ties, Jaguars fans would likely prefer a fresh Johnny Manziel over a washed up Tim Tebow.
But this entire conversation is irrelevant if Gabbert comes in and performs like he’s capable of in 2013. A solid season from Gabbert silences a majority of the critics and points the conversation back to the track the Jags were hoping it’d be on when they took him in the first-round of the 2011 NFL Draft.