Garrard: Dolphins Didn’t Make ‘Real Commitment’ to Sign Me at LinesMaker

Garrard: Dolphins Didn’t Make ‘Real Commitment’ to Sign Me

David Gar­rard is tak­ing it upon him­self to clear up any mis­in­for­ma­tion that might exist about his foot­ball future.

The for­mer Jack­sonville Jaguars quar­ter­back was in dis­cus­sions with the Miami Dol­phins this week, NFL Net­work insider Jason La Can­fora reported, but a con­tract didn’t come to fruition, and the team instead signed Sage Rosen­fels to replace injured starter Chad Henne on the ros­ter. Then other reports sur­faced that Gar­rard lacked a desire to play again.

Not so, says Gar­rard. He does want to play, just not for the Dol­phins under the cur­rent set of cir­cum­stances, he told ESPN.

“There’s been a lot of spec­u­la­tion about me that I don’t appre­ci­ate,” Gar­rard said Sat­ur­day. “I was going to lay low with the media, but I feel I have to pro­tect my name. I just want to make it clear that I’m a foot­ball player, I want to be with a team and be with an orga­ni­za­tion that will be as com­mit­ted to me as I will be to them.”

Given the Dol­phins’ 0–4 record and the lack of guar­an­teed money they brought to the table, Gar­rard sim­ply passed on the offer.

“They were not will­ing to guar­an­tee me the kind of money that reflects a real com­mit­ment and what I believe would pro­tect me from being cut twice in one sea­son,” Gar­rard said. “That doesn’t mean I’m one of those play­ers who thinks I’m wor­thy of another big pay day. My thoughts are the money I did want guar­an­teed the rest of the year was minis­cule with respect to what I accom­plished over my career. It wasn’t outrageous.”

Gar­rard later added: “Here’s the bot­tom line: I’m stay­ing in shape. I’m tak­ing care of my body, my legs, my arm — I’m hav­ing reg­u­lar mas­sage treat­ments. I’m ready to play. I’m ready for the right oppor­tu­nity. This (with the Dol­phins) just isn’t the right opportunity.”

Gar­rard, 33, sur­pris­ingly was released by the Jaguars on the eve of the reg­u­lar sea­son after five sea­sons as the starter in Jack­sonville. He has thrown for 16,003 yards and 89 touch­downs with 54 inter­cep­tions in nine sea­sons, all with the Jaguars.

Related Posts:

• Report: San­dusky Says Paterno Didn’t Ask
• PSU VP: JoePa Didn’t Sway Our Discipline
• Gross­man, Not Beck, to Start at QB for Red­skins vs. Dolphins
• Dol­phins RB Thomas Ruled Out vs. Giants With Ham­string Injury
• Tebow Ral­lies Bron­cos Back From 15 Down to Stun Dol­phins in OT

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