The Jacksonville Jaguars released quarterback David Garrard the Tuesday before their opening game against the Tennessee Titans. The Jaguars chalked it up to poor play by Garrard and they did not think he was the best option. During camp, Garrard injured his back and missed a week of practice, but played in the final three preseason games. Since his release, Garrard has had two teams in the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders contact him, but surprising news broke yesterday that Garrard needed season ending back surgery. Garrard's agent, Al Irby, accused the Jaguars of releasing an injured Garrard to save money.
In an e-mail to the Florida Times Union, Irby bashed the Jaguars organization, essentially calling them a classless organization.
"At $500,000 per game, they knew he would be down 4-6 weeks. They didn't want to pay that bill," Irby wrote. "Now you know the difference between a first-class organization like Indy, and a sorry organization like the Jags. Indy gave their QB a contract even though he couldn't play all season. ... David was told his back was fine. So he took them for their word.
"Now he has to go to surgery, and Jacksonville is saying, 'Not my problem.' What a first class organization!"
Too much time has passed for Garrard and his agent to file a medical grievance with the NFLPA, however. Garrard says that he does not plan to retire and plans to play somewhere in the 2012 NFL season.