David Garrard, once an upstart quarterback with the Jacksonville Jaguars, worked out for the New York Jets last week and left feeling like that was the place for him.
No longer hampered by a knee injury, Garrard said on XM Radio that he aced his audition and feels the Jets are an ideal place for him to restart his career. Never mind that Mark Sanchez is still on the roster.
Garrard, 35, met with Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, and he even encountered Sanchez.
“It was a great workout,” Garrard said. “Every drill they had me do, I did great in. I felt like my old self again. They loved what they saw.”
Because “they have a lot of issues with the (salary) cap,” Garrard said, the team did not offer him a contract. Yet.
“They really couldn’t do anything at that time,” he said. “That’s kind of unfortunate because I don’t want to have to sit here without a job.”
A source close to the situation told ESPN last week that the quarterback “anticipates putting a deal together” with the Jets once those cap issues are resolved. A source told ESPNNewYork on Sunday that the team has kept open the lines of communication with Garrard, but no deal is imminent.
Garrard, from New Jersey, has not played in a regular season game since 2010. He spent last offseason with the Miami Dolphins, but was sidelined by a knee injury and was not signed by any other team.
“I don’t have anything to prove to myself. I know I can play,” he said. “I’m not ready to be done yet when I can get out there and move around. It’s unfortunate these last two years I’ve had these injuries that really weren’t football injuries, because I didn’t get hit and get hurt.”
Garrard has thrown for 16,003 yards with 89 touchdowns and 54 interceptions in 86 career games, mostly with the Jaguars.
“I’m not ready to be done yet,” he said, adding, “I’m tired of sitting and watching on my couch.
“I want to go out and win ballgames. I’ve been watching for the last few years unfortunately and I’ve been watching some not-so-good quarterback play out there and I know that I can still play and I can play at a high level,” he said. “I want to get back out on the field and show myself that I can stay healthy and help a ballclub, really.”
