David Garrard: Why Cutting the Jacksonville Jaguars QB Spells Doom

RIP Jacksonville Jaguars' 2011 season.

Today Fox Sports analyst Jay Glazer reported that the Jags cut ties with starting quarterback David Garrard.

The move saves the team $8.1 million and puts them $30 million under the cap, but that’s not the point—well, if you care about wining at least.

Garrard, Jacksonville's starter for the last five years, has played extensively in the last three preseason games and had taken the majority of first-team snaps in practice. All of the chemistry, camaraderie and timing that had been built are now out the window.

It’s been one big waste of time.

The team is now shell-shocked, which is never a good emotion to have so close to Week 1.

The Jags will enter the season with journeymen Luke McCown as the starter.

When was the last time a team cut their scheduled starting quarterback a mere five days before the season kicked off?

Just four years ago the Jags pulled a very similar move by tossing Bryron Leftwich to the curb in favor of Garrard. That made more sense, considering Garrard was an emerging star and ended up leading the team to the playoffs and a thrilling victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This time around it’s a clear cost-cutting move and one that has to really anger the veterans like Maurice Jones-Drew in the locker room. Every player knows their time in the NFL is precious and having the rug pulled from under them at this point in the season is a slap in the face.

Sure Garrard has regressed since his magical season in 2007, but he would have had a lot more success than McCown in 2011.

The 30 year-old has appeared in a grand total of 16 games in his eight-year career. He will be keeping the seat warm until rookie Blaine Gabbert, who struggled in the preseason, is ready to take the reins.

It’s a very puzzling move, considering head coach Jack Del Rio has been told by ownership that he needs to make the playoffs in order to save his job.

With Garrard cut and Manning likely to miss Week 1, that means that Houston's Matt Schaub is the only scheduled starting quarterback in the AFC South who started for his team last year. 

That hammers home the point even more. In a weak division that is completely up for grabs, the Jags threw in the towel.

The Jags are finished and the season hasn’t even started yet.