Jacksonville Jaguars: For Rookie QB Blaine Gabbert, the Future Is Now

Blaine Gabbert, taken 10th overall in the 2011 NFL Draft, wasn't expected to take any snaps during the early part of the upcoming season.

This was David Garrard's make or break season, his last hurrah, and for Gabbert, a chance to learn from the sidelines.

On Tuesday, the Jaguars sent a clear message in what they have coined as a "football move" by releasing David Garrard and freeing up over $9 million in cap room. The move allows for Gabbert to make his appearance in an NFL game sometime this season.

In the meantime, the Jaguars will go with Luke McCown, and unless McCown pulls a Tom Brady type of season, expect Gabbert to make his first NFL start in the early part of the season.

It seems that Jaguars took a script out of the San Francisco 49ers page and their handling of former first-round pick, Alex Smith, who also started his rookie season on the bench, only to make appearances in the second and fourth game of the season.

By Week 5, Alex Smith had the reigns of the 49ers franchise.

Expect Blaine Gabbert's NFL rookie season to be handled much in the same fashion.

McCown is signed through the rest of the 2011 season at a base salary of $1 million. Gabbert, on the other hand, signed a four-year deal worth $12 million as the 10th overall pick.

For a Jaguars team who always seemed on the brink of doing great things, the release of Garrard signals the beginning of what the Jaguars front office hopes is a time of prosperity compared to the inconsistency of the Garrard era.