David Garrard is not coming to the Jets to sit on the bench.
The veteran quarterback made it clear in a conference call with reporters yesterday that he signed with the Jets because he has been promised he’ll have a chance to unseat Mark Sanchez as the starter.
“Honestly, they just told me that I have a chance to compete for the starting job,” Garrard said of his meeting with the Jets brass. “That’s what was told to me and they all seemed to be very genuine with it. They didn’t seem to be [thinking] ‘Let’s just say this to him to get him here and slot him in the 2 or 3 or 4 spot.’ I didn’t feel [that]. That’s how it was presented to me, and that’s how I still feel.”
The Jets signed Garrard on Monday to compete for the quarterback job, but offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg raised some eyebrows earlier in the day when he said Sanchez might have “a leg up” in the competition. Garrard, 35, said he is ready to fight for the job.
“I just expect to go out and compete,” Garrard said. “I’m really going to try to help the team out in any way possible. Like I said, if the way that I play on the field allows that to happen, then I think, ‘Great.’ But if it doesn’t, then I’m still going to be the best teammate I can be and really help out this team as much as I can. It’s a team sport. It’s not just me and the other quarterbacks. It’s everybody pulling together and really helping this ball club out as much as possible.”
The Jets have Sanchez, Garrard, Tim Tebow, Greg McElroy and Matt Simms under contract at quarterback. Tebow is expected to be released any day now and the Jets plan on adding another quarterback to the mix either through free agency or the draft. The Jets are interested in free agent Jason Campbell, according to a source.
Garrard, 35, has not played in a regular season game in two years. The Jets signed him to a one-year deal with a base salary of $1 million, according to NFLPA records. His nine-year run with the Jaguars ended in 2011 because of a back injury. He spent training camp with the Dolphins in 2012, but injured his knee and was released.
Garrard said his surgically repaired knee is not an issue.
“My knee is great right now,” Garrard said. “I’ve now moved on from that. I’ve timed that heal. I’m really just excited to get back into the league and get back out there playing ball and just being on a team.”