The San Francisco 49ers today announced that they have acquired quarterback and former first round pick Blaine Gabbert from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for an undisclosed draft choice. Other outlets have reported that the pick is a 6th round choice.
Gabbert must first pass a physical for the trade to be executed.
Gabbert left school early to enter the NFL Draft, but never panned out in Jacksonville. A combination of inconsistency, injuries, and a mediocre supporting cast led to Gabbert eventually being benched last year for Chad Henne.
“We thought highly of Blaine as an early entry into the 2011 NFL Draft,” said 49ers general manager Trent Baalke. “He is a high-character individual that will be given every opportunity to develop within our system and we are looking forward to working with him.”
With Henne recently signing a short term two-year deal with the Jags, expect Jacksonville to draft a quarterback to groom for the future while Henne does the heavy lifting this year.
As for the 49ers, Gabbert will likely compete for a backup role with Colt McCoy. Given starter Colin Kaepernick's penchant for running upfield, the 49ers could use a talented player on their bench in the event Kaepernick gets injured.
Originally the 10th overall draft pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by Jacksonville, Gabbert (6-4, 235) has played in 28 games (27 starts) completing 414 of 777 attempts for 4,357 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Gabbert attended the University of Missouri, where he started 26 of 31 games in three seasons and passed for 6,822 yards and 40 touchdowns. His 6,822 passing yards rank fourth in school history. Gabbert and 49ers LB Aldon Smith were teammates at Missouri for two seasons from 2009-10.
In other news, the Jacksonville Jaguars also signed unrestricted free agent cornerback Will Blackmon to a two-year contract and released running back Justin Forsett.
Blackmon was signed by the Jaguars on August 28, 2013 as a free agent after not playing in the NFL in 2012. He played in a career-best 15 games for the Jaguars last season with eight starts and produced the highest totals of his career. He finished with 40 tackles (30 solo), 10 passes defensed, three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception.
By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services
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