Former Carolina Panthers quarterback returns to NFL
Former Carolina Panthers quarterback returns to the NFL.
Garrett Gilbert finished the 2018 NFL season as quarterback of the Carolina Panthers with a 33-14 victory over the New Orleans Saints. While Gilbert didn’t start the football game under center, he was needed once Kyle Allen was injured near the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Both were replacing Cam Newton, who was shut down once Carolina was essentially eliminated from playoff consideration and Taylor Heinicke, himself removed with an injury from the previous contest after initially taking over the offensive reigns from Newton, with two games remaining.
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Gilbert joined the upstart Alliance of American Football, playing for legendary coach Steve Spurrier and the Orlando Apollos. After an impressive season debut, Glibert led the Apollos on a five game winning streak, becoming the first team to qualify for the league’s playoffs. Unfortunately, on April 2 the league suspended operations and ultimately allowed their players to seek employment elsewhere.
Wasting little time, Gilbert signed with the Cleveland Browns to compete for a backup position with Drew Stanton behind Baker Mayfield. The former Panthers quarterback expects to be in contention for the position with a Browns team that has made a number of moves this offseason.
After being drafted by the then, St. Louis Rams (now Los Angeles), in Round 6 of the 2014 NFL Draft, Gilbert bounced around to New England, Detroit and Oakland before finding some footing in Carolina. Making his regular season NFL debut in the closing minutes of 2018, Gilbert completed two of his three passes and made a series of hand offs to run out the clock and seal a victory for the Panthers.
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With the continued emergence of Mayfield, Browns fans hope he won’t be needed in Cleveland but if his time in Carolina proved anything – Gilbert will be ready if called upon.