Could Blaine Gabbert eventually replace Tom Brady with Buccaneers?

Tom Brady and Blaine Gabbert are two names rarely mentioned in the same sentence among those in the NFL community. Both are quarterbacks on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster that defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, but the similarities essentially end there. 

Brady is widely considered the GOAT QB, a seven-time champion and five-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player showing few signs of slowing down even though he'll turn 44 years old in August. Gabbert, meanwhile, is a 31-year-old backup signal-caller who will receive his first Super Bowl ring later this year but who is largely remembered as being a bust while with the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Despite all of that, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht recently suggested Gabbert could receive the keys to the Tampa Bay offense whenever Brady calls time on his Hall of Fame career. 

"First of all, I love his energy," Licht explained, per Taylor Jenkins of Pewter Report. "I’ve really gotten close to Blaine this year just being on the sidelines. He’s a really smart guy but he is one guy, my scouts and I talk about this a lot, he’s just one guy that I love to watch throw every day in practice because he has got a cannon. He’s very accurate with his throws as well and he can just really whistle them in in tight windows. If he had been forced to play, he played in the Detroit game, but if he had been forced to play more I think that he would have really opened a lot of people’s eyes about how talented he is, especially being in the same system for a couple of years."

Licht added: "I'm not going to rule anything out right now." 

The truth of the matter is that such discussions are silly ahead of Valentine's Day and not just because nothing outside of blind hope suggests this winter that Gabbert has the goods to start for a contender or even a middle-of-the-road team. Before Super Bowl LV, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said he "wouldn't be surprised" if Brady signs an extension to play beyond the 2021 season.