Friday, August 31, 2007

Jaguars name Garrard starting QB; Leftwich out

The Jacksonville Jaguars have named David Garrard the team's starting quarterback and have decided to part ways with four-year starter Byron Leftwich, whom the Jaguars drafted out of Marshall in 2003. The 27-year old Leftwich has yet to play a full season in the NFL due to nagging leg injuries. He missed 10 games last year because of a broken ankle. In the six games that he played, Leftwich tallied 1,159 passing yards, seven touchdowns, five interceptions, and a 79 quarterback rating. Leftwich also missed the final five games of the 2005-06 season and the team's first-round playoff game against the New England Patriots due to the same injury. He is expected to be traded or released.

Garrard, 29, has been with Jacksonville since 2002. In that time span, he has started 18 games, 10 last year, and has a career quarterback rating of 78.9. Last season, Garrard threw for 1,735 yards and 10 touchdowns while being picked off nine times. His quarterback rating was 80.5. The Jaguars went 8-8 and failed to make the playoffs.

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