David Garrard to Dolphins: What It Means for Miami's Offense

"If the Miami Dolphins were hoping to find their quarterback for the 2012 season in free agency, they're out of luck."

These are the words I wrote just 24 hours ago when Matt Flynn signed with the Seattle Seahawks.

But silly me—I had forgotten David Garrard is a free agent quarterback.

Wait, you had too? Understandable mistake since Garrard didn't play at all in 2011 and had muddled in mediocrity for years beforehand.

And then this happens: 

"

David Garrard is a Miami Dolphin.

— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) March 20, 2012"

The Dolphins didn't make much of a splash here, agreeing to a one-year deal with Garrard, according to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. 

The team expressed interest in the former Jaguars quarterback last season when Chad Henne went down with a shoulder injury, but Garrard himself required surgery and said that the Dolphins wouldn't commit to him according to Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post.

It's not hard to see why new Philbin might have liked Garrard. He may not be on the same level as Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but the two have a fairly similar skill set. Both are talented quarterbacks on the move, and both excel in the short-to-intermediate passing game.

Rodgers is a much better deep passer, but both make the majority of their throws 0-19 yards off the line of scrimmage. According to Pro Football Focus, Garrard threw 236 out of 421 (56.1 percent) of his passes in that range in 2010, while in 2011, Rodgers threw 374 out of 636 (58.8 percent) of his passes in that range.

If healthy, Garrard should create a competition at quarterback with incumbent starter Matt Moore. Is he a better option as a starter, though? That's a question we won't have the answer to until at least training camp.

What the Dolphins can do in the meantime, though, is add weapons at wide receiver. While adding Garrard doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things—the team could still pursue a quarterback in the draft—it won't matter who's throwing the ball with a mediocre receiving corps.

Moore and Garrard may not be great QBs, and as the old saying goes, if you have two quarterbacks, you really don't have one.

It's going to take more than one offseason to get all the pieces in place for Philbin's new-look offense, but this was a good first step to ensure that the team at least has depth at the most important position on the roster headed into training camp.

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