DAVID GARRARD (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)
The prospective participants in the 2013 Jets quarterback derby will not get Jets fans’ pulses racing.
David Garrard, Brady Quinn … zzzzz.
Garrard and Quinn are the first names of quarterbacks to leak out that the Jets might be interested in signing. They are indicative of what Jets fans should expect as the team begins to build its roster — cheap, cheap, cheap. The Jets are $8.1 million under the salary cap, according to overthecap.com, but a decent chunk of that needs to be saved for draft picks. A team source said yesterday the Jets will focus on building through the draft and add a few low-priced players in free agency.
Garrard could be one of those. The 35-year-old worked out for the Jets on Thursday and a source said the team was impressed. Al Irby, Garrard’s agent, said the former Jaguar spent Wednesday night and all day Thursday with the Jets, undergoing a battery of drills and medical tests on the injured knee that sidelined him last year and the back injury that ended his run in Jacksonville two years ago.
Irby said the Jets expressed interest in Garrard, but said they first wanted to look at some other quarterbacks and also make some changes on their own roster before making a decision on Garrard. Irby said Garrard has drawn interest from other teams, but liked what he heard from the Jets.
Quinn’s name has also been linked to the Jets as a possible signing to compete with Mark Sanchez and Greg McElroy for the starting quarterback job. Both Quinn and Garrard should cost around $1 million to $2 million to sign.
The Jets already have a $12.8 million salary cap charge with Sanchez. They probably won’t commit more than $3 million more to the position.
Garrard is an intriguing option for the Jets. If he’s healthy, he could give Sanchez a run for the starting job. But he has not played a regular-season game since 2010. He was in contention for the Dolphins’ starting job last summer before injuring his knee in the preseason.
“I’m sure he can shine in drill work and in the workout, but can he physically take the contact, the hits, the grind and the shots,” one league executive said. “No one knows because he hasn’t done it.
“At the very least, they upgrade the No. 2 spot over Tebow and McElroy. The question is: can he beat out Sanchez? I think he has a chance to do that if he proves healthy and can stay healthy.”
The Jets are expected to have five quarterbacks in training camp — Sanchez, McElroy, Matt Simms, plus two additions through either free agency or the draft. Tim Tebow, who is still on the Jets roster, is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
The Jets enter free agency with holes at quarterback, running back, tight end, offensive line, outside linebacker and safety. That is a lot of holes to fill and not a lot of money to do it. That is why new general manager John Idzik will be trying to fill most of those through the draft. A potential Darrelle Revis trade could net the Jets more draft picks to use in April.
* The Jets signed DT Junior Aumavae, DB Eric Crocker and WR Thomas Mayo.