After a loss to Penn State in which he set a school record with 48 pass attempts, Gelbaugh and the Terps reeled off three straight victories.
[2][3] The season ended with a victory over Syracuse in the Cherry Bowl, where he passed for 223 yards and two touchdowns, and added another rushing score.
[8][9] He briefly became a punter for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League and averaged 40.2 yards on 45 punts, before being waived on October 7.
[11] Gelbaugh signed with the Buffalo Bills in November 1986,[12] and served as Jim Kelly's backup (he was active in 5 games).
Even though coach Sam Wyche thought he was good enough to be a starter, he was cut before training camp was completed.
[2] In 1990, he was selling photocopiers and fax machines to make money while still looking for a job in football; he would later remark that he would sooner face a blitz than deal with secretaries.
[23] He credited much of his success to his offensive line, nicknamed the "Nasty Boyz", who allowed the fewest sacks in the league.
[22] In the playoffs, Gelbaugh got revenge on the Knights for his injury by throwing for 391 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 42–26 comeback victory to send the Monarchs to the inaugural World Bowl.
[27] Although he was interested in joining the San Diego Chargers,[27] he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL as a member of their practice squad.
On September 18, he was signed by the Phoenix Cardinals, who were having quarterback trouble after starter Timm Rosenbach was injured for the season, and backup Tom Tupa was underperforming.
[2] After appearances in two games against Minnesota and the New York Giants, he earned his first start in a 14–10 loss to San Francisco in Week 12.
[31] Gelbaugh's first game back was an overtime victory over the Knights in London; he finished the day with 349 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
[31] Gelbaugh joined the Seahawks for the 1992 season, planning to be the third-string quarterback behind Dan McGwire and Kelly Stouffer.
[36] His first appearance came in relief of McGwire in week 7 against the Dallas Cowboys, but he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, and the Seahawks lost 27–0.
[31] His next action would come in relief of Stouffer against the Denver Broncos, and he would lead the team to an improbable comeback on Monday Night Football, throwing a game-tying touchdown on the final play of regulation.
[41] Although Gelbaugh was resigned for the 1993 season,[42] his only appearance came in relief of injured starter Rick Mirer in the fourth quarter of a game against the New England Patriots.
[44] In 1996, he started the last regular season game against the Raiders, but was injured on the second series of downs after tearing a groin muscle.
[46] (The nickname proved to be appropriate for his post-football career: he is now the senior vice president at Kalmia, an interior construction company in Maryland.