What is David Garrard’s future in Jacksonville?
With the Jaguars announcing they have signed Luke McCown to a contract extension, another piece has been added to the Jaguars QB puzzle. The other two pieces will come during the Draft and whenever a new CBA is announced. The Jaguars will take a QB early in the draft, perhaps with their first round pick. Whoever that pick will be, they will be the future of the position and should be the starter by 2012.
The NFL’s labor situation will also play a huge role in how the offseason is handled. If a new CBA isn’t reached until September then practically every rookie will be behind the eight ball. That would make veterans who would otherwise be expendable harder for teams to cut.
What does all of this have to do with David Garrard? Simple. Depending on how those two factors go, he may have already played his last game for the Jaguars.
David Garrard is scheduled to make over $8 million dollars in salary in 2011. For a team like the Jaguars, that is a big financial commitment to make. Over the long run, has Garrard shown he is worth that? Personally, I don’t think so.
While the terms of McCown’s contract haven’t been released, I’m sure it is a fraction of what Garrard would be scheduled to make. McCown has been with Jacksonville for two years now, so he should know the offense. In addition, had McCown not suffered a torn ACL vs. San Diego, it is likely he would’ve been named the starter at some point in the season.
Where the Jaguars take QB will also play a role in that decision as well. If the Jaguars do take a QB at 16, besides Jake Locker, there would be little justification to not starting that player right away. If the Jaguars wait until the 2nd round, then obviously expectations will be lowered accordingly. Even if the rookie QB sits a year, is it worth paying Garrard $8 million to essentially be a caretaker QB for one more year?
All of this is mute though if the NFL and NFLPA don’t hatch out an agreement in the near future. If the lockout drags on until August/September, teams will have little choice but to use the same rosters they had in 2010 plus rookies. In that scenario, that rookie QB of the future won’t have seen a Jaguars playbook until a few weeks before the start of the season. If that happens, you can make a good case for keeping three QBs on the roster.
No matter what, David Garrard’s future in Jacksonville is drawing to a close sooner or later. Whether he gets one more year or not will likely be due to forces beyond his control. Like the rest of us, he’ll just have to sit and wait to see what happens.
-Jonathan Loesche
