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The Jacksonville Jaguars have announced that Blaine Gabbert will the be team's starting quarterback for the 2013 Week 1 opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. The announcement ends the quarterback competition with back up Chad Henne, and comes on the heels of Gabbert's impressive performance against the New York Jets on Saturday.
Gabbert ended his night going 13-for-16 for 165 yards and a touchdown, including a 35-yard strike on the Jaguars first offensive play to rookie Ace Sanders. The performance was by far the best of any Jaguars quarterback for the first two preseason games and coupled with the poor play of Chad Henne likely made the decision easy for the team.
Gabbert, 23, was drafted by the Jaguars with the 10th overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft and has started just 24 games in his career. His season was cut short last year after he tore his labrum in his non-throwing shoulder against the Oakland Raiders, playing just four more games afterwards before going on injured reserve. He's had a rough start to his career and this season is expected to be his final chance with the Jaguars.
The only question going forward now is the health of Gabbert's throwing hand, in which he sprained his thumb on his last pass of the night.