Former Missouri Tigers QB Blaine Gabbert took in the 2011 NFL Combine in Indianapolis this week and took a route no other quarterback took -- he decided not to throw. All the other top quarterbacks, like former Auburn QB Cam Newton and former Washington QB Jake Locker, did throw for scouts at the Combine.
Because he didn't throw, it's hard to say he helped himself. The reason people will say he did hurt himself, or potentially hurt himself, is because somehow not working out says something about him. 'All the other quarterbacks weren't afraid to throw, why was Gabbert?' they'll say. NFL teams like players that want to compete and are willing to compete -- anywhere. For his part, Gabbert says he won't shy away from any throw at his March 17th pro day. In my opinion, he's making a smart business decision to throw in a more comfortable, controlled environment. Anyone who says this somehow says something about him or his character, or that this isn't him simply listening to his (highly successful and experienced) agent, is looking for a reason to knock him down.
Could he have helped himself last weekend? Very possible. He and Newton are neck and neck to become the top quarterback taken and Newton had a so-so day throwing the ball. Perhaps it was so-so enough to knock his stock down a little bit. Indirectly, that would be helping Gabbert.
My take is that his stock stayed the same. Sure, you can say it was a mistake not to throw at the Combine but it didn't affect his stock. Any team interested in him isn't going to base a multi-million dollar decision based on one day of throwing in shorts (and if they do, they're probably not a very good team...or they're the Bengals).