Blaine Gabbert is just like any employee who's starting a new job, going through the process of learning his role and getting to know his coworkers.
But this will be the third job in seven years for the newest Arizona Cardinals quarterback -- and he hopes the Valley will be his last stop on the job market for a while.
"I think the biggest thing is just to kind of get acclimated with the organization, learn the playbook, learn the guys and just really kind of master everything," Gabbert told ABC15's Jason Snavely on Monday. "Being the new guy, you've got to catch up to speed with the guys that have been here for a while."
If there's anything Gabbert has gotten used to, it's being the new guy.
Much was expected of the 6-foot-4, 235-pounder when he arrived in the NFL, as he was a first-round pick (10th overall) by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2011 draft. But Gabbert's professional road has been rocky, to say the least: He went just 5-22 during three seasons in Jacksonville before signing with the 49ers, and he didn't have much more success there, as he was replaced by Colin Kaepernick as the starting QB early last season.
But in fairness to Gabbert, it's difficult to thrive in organizations with an enormous amount of turnover. Consider this: Gabbert has played for six different offensive coordinators in as many NFL seasons. (To his credit, he can name all of them.)
That's one of the reasons the Cardinals signed Gabbert to a one-year contract last month. He wasn't brought in to be start for the Cardinals, but if he's called upon to do so, coach Bruce Arians believes Gabbert can succeed in the Cards' system.
Gabbert believes it, too.
"I feel like I'm really young in my career. Being only 27, I've got a lot of experience under my belt at kind of a young age, I guess," he said. "There's definitely a big chip on my shoulder and a lot to prove."
Gabbert said his first week practicing with the team last week went well, thanks in part to the Cardinals' pair of veteran quarterbacks, Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton, who are serving as mentors to him as well as the other QBs on the team, fellow 27-year-old Zac Dysert and undrafted rookie Trevor Knight.
"They've been great. We've got a great room," Gabbert said. "It started with Carson and Drew, the guys that have been there a while. Then Zac, Trevor and myself are the young guys. Just learning from those guys and seeing how they work on a daily basis has been a great asset for the room."
With the guidance of his new, experienced coworkers and a more positive work environment, Gabbert believes he can be the type of valuable employee he seemed destined to become when he arrived in the NFL six years ago.
"It's been a smooth transition," he said. "(We have) a lot of great people in that building. It's been fun so far."
