The Buccaneers raised a few eyebrows locally, and around the league on Friday night, with the drafting of a quarterback in the second round when they selected Florida’s Kyle Trask.

Two weeks ago the Bucs only had one quarterback on the roster – Tom Brady – but did re-sign Ryan Griffin recently. After the pick of Trask, an immediate question was, how does Blaine Gabbert fit into the Bucs future plans?

Bucs QB Blaine Gabbert – Photo by: USA Today

Or does he even fit at all?

Following the conclusion of Friday night’s draft, head coach Bruce Arians answered the question.

Look for Gabbert to be back, possibly even as early as this week, if you read the tea leaves from Arians’ comments.

“I really hope that we can get Blaine done soon and go in and just have normal competition,” Arians said. “Blaine has proven what he can do for us. Hopefully we’ll get that redone soon.”

Gabbert joined the Buccaneers in 2019 as the backup to then starter Jameis Winston. Gabbert suffered a shoulder injury in the preseason that sent him to IR. He re-signed with the Buccaneers again in 2020. Arians had previously coached Gabbert in Arizona and has done nothing but brag on Gabbert so Friday night’s comments weren’t very surprising.

Gabbert was drafted in the first round in 2011 by the Jacksonville Jaguars, playing three season before being released following an injury-riddle 2013 campaign. From there, Gabbert ended up in San Francisco for three seasons. Next the 2017 season with the Cardinals in Arizona and with Arians. Gabbert signed with the Tennessee Titans prior to the 2018 season and started three games in relief of Marcus Mariota. He joined the Buccaneers in 2019 in Dirk Koetter’s last season with Tampa Bay.

Last season Gabbert saw action in four games. He completed 9-of-16 passes for for 143 yards and two touchdowns with not interceptions.