Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2022 Free Agent Profile: QB Blaine Gabbert
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in addition to replacing the greatest quarterback of all time, are tasked with addressing the status of 26 free agents this offseason, including 10 starters.
Due to a lack of significant cap space — currently hovering just over $3 million, per Over the Cap — it won't be easy, if even possible, for the Bucs to bring all 26 players back, or even all of their first-teamers who are set to hit the market.
AllBucs is creating profiles for each of Tampa Bay's imminent free agents for the 2022 offseason. After examining wide receiver Chris Godwin, cornerback Carlton Davis III, running back Leonard Fournette, outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul, tight end Rob Gronkowski and safety Jordan Whitehead next up on the slate is a man with the potential to serve as Tom Brady's successor, at least in the short term, quarterback Blaine Gabbert.
We'll discuss the value each player provides the team and try our best to predict whether or not Tampa Bay will prioritize bringing them back.
QB Blaine Gabbert
2021 stats (playoffs included): Six games, 63.6% completion percentage, 67 yards
Previous contract: One year, $2 million
Spotrac market value and projected contract: N/A
To this point, AllBucs has looked to provide an educated look into the free agencies of some of Tampa's starters that played vital roles in their success in the past two seasons.
Today, due to the developments the offseason news cycle brings, we shift our attention to a player set to hit the open market when the NFL new year begins who has served in a backup capacity during his time with the Bucs and for a majority of his career.
Speaking with the Tampa Bay Times, Bruce Arians went on the record to proclaim his faith in backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert's ability to take over at the helm following Brady's retirement.
Drafted to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011, Gabbert was dealt a rough hand to begin his career. In his first eight NFL seasons, the quarterback played for eight different head coaches, eight different offensive coordinators and poorly constructed rosters. That, in large part, played a significant role in his career record of 13-35 as a starter.
Arians believes that the continuity of the Bucs coaching staff, allowing Gabbert to grow familiar with the gameplan, and the fact that this would be the most talented team he's ever played with, Gabbert possesses the traits needed to gain another shot as a starter in the league.
Equipped with a promising stature at 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, arm strength and mobility to move outside of the pocket, Gabbert doesn't fall short of attributes that, on paper, suggest he could excel following two seasons soaking up the knowledge of the quarterback with the most esteemed resume of all time.
Where the question marks begin to creep in, flashing back to his days as a starter in Jacksonville and elsewhere in the NFL, is how he will handle the decision-making aspects of the game when operating in a full-time capacity.
He was heavily criticized for his lack of composure and poor decision-making in the pocket when playing in Jacksonville, cowering to the presence of opposing pass rushers despite room to maneuver around the pocket. It played a significant role in his short-lived stint for the squad that drafted him at 10th overall.
Are those aspects of his game fixable after 11 years of trial and error?
Arians, who has made a living off elevating quarterbacks to their highest potential, concluded that Gabbert controlling the offense is a suitable transition from Brady.
Some of Gabbert's best years have come while operating in offenses led by Arians.
In four seasons in Arians' system, splitting time between Arizona and Tampa Bay, Gabbert has completed 56 percent of his passes for 1,296 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions.
Arians views Gabbert as an immediate fix for a glaring hole within the framework of the Buccaneers franchise, which gives second-round draft pick Kyle Trask -- a guy the organization hopes to eventually take over as the guy in the Bay -- more time to develop to the professional game.
As a result, Gabbert is trending toward a return -- likely on a one-year prove-it deal around the same $2 million mark he earned during 2021 -- for his third year with TB in 2022.
It's a deal that bodes well for both parties, giving Gabbert what is likely his final chance to start in the NFL and the Bucs a serviceable and cheap option at quarterback while they attempt to work cap magic to maintain a championship-level roster.
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