In a recent Tweet by Tania Ganguli on Twitter, Ganguli states:
“On the quarterback questions, Gabbert won't sit for the sake of development. If he beats out Garrard, he will start.”
Ok here’s the deal: In reality, every rookie get’s a shot at making the starting team, regardless of who they are, so take this very early tweet with as much salt as you would use to clean out a tooth.
Remember, the Jaguars still have Garrard on the hook for $8 million dollars, and in the off-chance event that Gabbert actually beats out Garrard, they still have a hefty situation on their hands.
Gabbert has not had one OTA and there have been no rookie minicamps.
Simply put, the chances of a guy who primarily played shotgun his entire collegiate career (over 70%) beating out a career 61.6% completion veteran pocket passer—his first time around the May Pole, mind you— is incredibly unlikely to open the season as a true pocket passer.
Garrard should respond in kind to the competition, though, making him an intriguing low end QB1 consideration for your 2011 Fantasy Football draft, but that’s still a ways away.
For now, Gabbert should be watched during the summer, but don’t expect much and don’t fall for the hype of a possible starting day gig, barring some unforeseen injury to Garrard.
