Bruce Arians is really talking up Blaine Gabbert

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will need a new starting quarterback next season, and Bruce Arians is talking as if he will be content sticking with some options in-house.

The Buccaneers head coach recently talked up backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert as if the 32-year-old could be Tampa Bay’s QB.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud published an article on Tuesday about the Bucs’ QB situation. In the story, he shared a quote from Arians, who had big things to say about Gabbert.

“People may not like the overall record, but Blaine had eight head coaches and eight coordinators his first eight years,” Arians said via the Tampa Bay Times. “He beat Jacksonville their best year and beat Tennessee their big year for us in Arizona. And he’s been in the system now. I don’t have a problem there and let Kyle continue to grow. Either one. [Gabbert] has never played with a team this good. He’s got all the respect in the locker room that he can have.”

Stroud also discussed Kyle Trask, the team’s third-string QB, in the same article.

Gabbert and Arians have a long history, which explains the coach’s confidence in the quarterback. If Tampa Bay were to head into the season with Gabbert as their QB, it would be a likely signal that they are rebuilding.

Sometimes coaches and executives talk up their in-house players because they want to instill confidence in the players. They also do so because they don’t want to give away too much information regarding the team’s plans.

Gabbert is 13-35 as a starter, which is the record to which Arians was pointing. But he went 2-3 in Arizona under Arians and beat some impressive teams during that 2017 season. Plus, Gabbert has been with Tampa Bay and Arians the last three seasons and knows the coach’s system.

Arians might feel more comfortable sticking with Gabbert at quarterback rather than pursuing a free agent like Teddy Bridgewater or Marcus Mariota. But everyone knows Gabbert isn’t a solution for the position.