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The Buccaneers have officially announced the signing of quarterback Blaine Gabbert to a one-year contract Wednesday.
Earlier this week, multiple reports had the two sides working on a deal. Greg Auman of The Athletic was the first to report the move on Monday.
Nothing final, but expect Bucs to sign veteran QB Blaine Gabbert as a backup in next 24 hours. Played under Arians/Goodwin/Leftwich in Arizona in 2017, was just cut by Titans last week.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 25, 2019
Gabbert, who turns 30 in October, was recently released by the Titans after they acquired Ryan Tannehill in a trade with the Dolphins. Gabbert went 2-1 in three starts with Tennessee in 2018. Over eight total games, he completed 60.4 percent of his passes and threw for 626 yards and four touchdowns to four interceptions. 2019 will be his ninth NFL season, and he will be spending it with his fifth team.
The No. 10 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft spent three years in Jacksonville, three in San Francisco, one in Arizona and one in Tennessee. In his one year with Arizona, Gabbert played under new Bucs head coach Bruce Arians, assistant head coach Harold Goodwin and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. He started five games that season, going 2-3. He completed 55.6 percent of his passes and threw for 1,086 yards and six touchdowns to six interceptions.
Over his eight seasons in the league, Gabbert has put together a completion percentage of 56.2, with 9,063 yards, 48 touchdowns and 47 interceptions in 56 games (48 starts).
With this signing, the Bucs will have Gabbert and Ryan Griffin competing to be Jameis Winston’s backup in 2019. It’s not surprising that Tampa Bay decided to bring in one of Arians’ former quarterbacks. He knows the system and the coaching staff well.
On top of that, he fits what Arians wants in a backup quarterback. Since taking the job with the Bucs, Arians has said that he doesn’t want Winston looking over his shoulder. With either Gabbert or Griffin in the No. 2 role, Winston shouldn’t have that problem.