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While Tom Brady gets all the plaudits, Tampa Bay Buccaneers backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert is apparently the real star in town.
Sure, Brady has won seven Super Bowl trophies and has broken just about every single record there is to break for a quarterback. But has he ever saved someone’s life?
Because that’s reportedly what Gabbert did recently.
A former first-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011, Gabbert has bounced around the league for much of his career. He’s since settled as a steady backup in Tampa Bay for the last four seasons.
But on Thursday, he made a bigger contribution off the field than he ever could on it.
Blaine Gabbert Helps Save Helicopter Crash Victims From Drowining
Matt Cohen of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Gabbert was among a number of bystanders who helped four passengers out of the bay following a helicopter crash on Thursday.
28-year-old Hunter Hupp of Philadelphia was with his parents on a helicopter tour of the city for a Christmas gift when he remembers hearing a popping sound in the rotor. The aircraft then made an emergency landing in the water according to Cohen’s report.
Hupp, his parents, and the pilot then freed themselves from the sinking helicopter and Gabbert just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Hupp estimates he was underneath the water for between 45 seconds and a minute.
Among the bystanders who helped rescue the family from the water was Tampa Bay Buccaneers backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who was on a personal watercraft at the time. – via The Tampa Bay Times
The report did not state exactly what Gabbert’s role was in the rescue. But it’s undoubtedly a moment that both he and the victims will never forget.
Gabbert has not yet commented on the incident.