Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell isn't ready to give up on Blaine Gabbert, saying instead the team will shape its roster around the young quarterback.
"That was his second year," Caldwell told The Florida Times-Union this week. "What were they saying about other quarterbacks after their second year? We're looking for improvement (in his third year). We need to build around him. We'll upgrade whenever we can upgrade."
Caldwell told the newspaper the Jaguars aren't about to dazzle society in free agency, but instead build "slow and steady" through the draft. He spoke of growing the team over the course of a decade, which gives us a window into his thinking on Gabbert. Caldwell's Jaguars are not about the quick fix. Had Jacksonville hired another general manager, Gabbert might be bound for the street.
New head coach Gus Bradley has met with the quarterback and told The Times-Union, "(Gabbert's) been very impressive so far in our conversations."
The hazard is falling for offseason illusions. Tale after tale was told of Gabbert's growth last spring, but we didn't see enough of that on the field. Caldwell can make the argument that few second-year passers generate buzz, but this comes weeks after a string of rookie and sophomore-year quarterbacks -- Colin Kaepernick, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin III -- fascinated the nation and led their teams to the postseason.
We highly doubt the Jaguars -- behind closed doors -- are content with what they've seen under center.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
