Blaine Gabbert officially named starter for Arizona Cardinals on Sunday

TEMPE, Ariz. — Head coach Bruce Arians made it official and announced Blaine Gabbert as the starting quarterback for the upcoming game against the Houston Texans.

Earlier in the week, 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Mike Jurecki reported Gabbert would get the nod but the team had not officially done so.

The start will be Gabbert’s first time seeing the field as an Arizona Cardinal. His most recent action was in 2016 when he started five games for the San Francisco 49ers.

With the 49ers, Gabbert completed nearly 57 percent of his passes for 925 yards and five touchdowns against six interceptions.

The former 2011 first-round pick of the Jaguars out of Missouri saw his most extensive playing time as a rookie, when he started 14 games and threw for 2,214 yards with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for a team that finished 5-11. He started 10 games the next season then just three in 2013 before being traded to the 49ers in March of 2014 for a sixth-round draft pick.

The Cardinals signed Gabbert to a one-year contract in May and the 28-year-old performed well in preseason, completing 41-of-67 passes for 547 yards with a touchdown and an interception — a quarterback rating of 85.9.

His performance in preseason has teammates such as wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald trusting in his overall ability.

“He’s got a gift in terms of being able to throw the ball and arm strength,” he said. “It’s the same routes, same concepts. Blaine has been here now, he had a whole offseason and training camp and he got reps periodically throughout practice throughout the course of the year.”

Fitzgerald added that he expects to see many extended plays from Gabbert, noting the quarterbacks ability to get out of the pocket and scramble during broken plays.

Drew Stanton, who started the last two games for the Cardinals, suffered a sprained knee in a 22-16 loss to Seattle last week, although he did finish the game.

The backup to Gabbert will be decided on Sunday. If Stanton is healthy enough he will be active. If not, recently signed Matt Barkley would be the guy.

Gabbert will be the third guy to take snaps under center for the Cardinals this season. Carson Palmer is recovering from a broken arm he suffered during the second quarter of their loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Gabbert’s ability to lead the Cardinals will be seen on Sunday. For now, Fitzgerald and teammates remain confident that Gabbert will perform to expectations.

“I think he’s comfortable. I think we are comfortable with him,” Fitzgerald said. “Blaine’s solid. He’ll be ready to roll.”

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