The Jacksonville Jaguars came into this season with high hopes for Blaine Gabbert, but the starting quarterback's second season is officially on ice.
The Jaguars placed Gabbert on injured reserve Wednesday, citing the right forearm injury he suffered in Week 11 and the lingering left shoulder pain that sidetracked his season. The team also placed receiver Laurent Robinson on IR with concussion symptoms.
Gabbert said Wednesday he'll know more about the damage to his forearm in the coming days, but his future is wrapped in mystery.
It's possible Gabbert has made his final start in Jacksonville. He was benched in Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans in favor of Chad Henne, who coach Mike Mularkey labeled his starter going forward. That's saying something.
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Gabbert's development has been sluggish and frustrating. After a promising preseason, he displayed too much of the skittish play that characterized his disastrous rookie campaign in 2011. His nine touchdowns to six interceptions hint at fewer mistakes, but not nearly enough production. Gabbert hasn't bloomed into a passer who can spark this offense out of a funk. He's too often the core problem.
Robinson didn't help. He was brought in to duplicate his sturdy play with the Dallas Cowboys of a season ago, but never got on track, with just 24 catches for 252 yards.
This was a critical season for Gabbert to restore the team's faith in his potential. Mularkey inherited this quarterback, he didn't select him -- and change appears certain in 2013.
UPDATE: Gabbert will have surgery on his left shoulder next week, but will not have surgery on his right arm, NFL.com's Steve Wyche reports per a team source.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
