Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a starting quarterback, but he will not play for the rest of the preseason.
On Monday, Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley named third-year quarterback Blaine Gabbert the starter, but said he will miss the remainder of the preseason with a hairline fracture of the thumb on his throwing hand. Gabbert suffered the injury on his last play of Saturday’s preseason loss to the New York Jets when he hit his hand on a rushing defensive lineman.
Even though Gabbert will not take any more reps this preseason, Bradley was adamant that the job was his no matter how well Chad Henne plays in the teams final two preseason games.
The Jaguars expect Gabbert to return to practice during the week leading up to the first regular season game at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The move to name Gabbert the starter comes as little surprise to those who have been around the organization this offseason. Everything new Jaguars general manager David Caldwell has done this offseason has been geared towards giving Gabbert the best possible chance to show he is capable of living up to being a top ten draft pick.
This will almost certainly be Gabbert’s last chance with the Jaguars to show he is capable of being a franchise quarterback. With a vastly improved offensive line and a full complement of weapons he will have no excuses if he continues to play poorly in 2013.
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