Anquan Boldin has enjoyed his three starts with Blaine Gabbert at the helm. Boldin is getting a ton of targets (31) over those three games and his production has been solid to match with 18 catches for 223 yards.
As far as Boldin is concerned, Gabbert has shown enough to be the long-term option for the team. On Around the NFL on NFL Network on Thursday, Andrew Siciliano asked if Gabbert could be the team's future at the quarterback position.
"I think so," Boldin replied. "His body of work the last couple of weeks speaks for itself. You don't play the way that he's been playing just by luck."
It's been an amazing career revival for Gabbert. As Boldin pointed out, Gabbert has "wheels" and he "can throw the ball with the best of them." Gabbert also has shown an improved understanding of when to throw the ball away, and how to deal with pass-rush pressure.
Suddenly, Gabbert's contract looks like one of the biggest bargains in the league. He's due roughly $2 million next season, which is about half the price of a quality backup. Gabbert has proven he's a quality backup at worst, and we tend to agree with Boldin: The 49ers could do a lot worse than Gabbert as their starter next year. We'd expect Gabbert to compete in training camp for the starting job.
It remains a question whether Gabbert will be throwing to Boldin in 2016. The 13-year veteran is a free agent this offseason, and he might be looking for a team with a better chance to get back to the Super Bowl.
