NFL Rumors: Why Did David Garrard Turn Down Miami Dolphins?

The talk of the NFL Thursday was the announcement that Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne will miss the remainder of the regular season because of shoulder surgery.

The name that Miami brought in to replace him might surprise you, too. 

ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted the signing today:

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"With Chad Henne done for season, Dolphins now plan to sign former Giants QB Sage Rosenfels."

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Rosenfels certainly wasn't the name most expected to hear after the injury news, especially with other veteran quarterbacks, including former Jags QB David Garrard, still available. 

But we also got this this tweet from the Professor, also known as ESPN's John Clayton: 

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"The Dolphins still aren't saying anything on Chad Henne's injury. Doesn't sound good. Plus, David Garrard and Jake Delhomme said no to them."

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Now, why in the world would a veteran quarterback that needs a job turn down a team that has a clear void at that position? 

There's a couple ways of attacking this question. 

Most have said that it came down to money, with Garrard wanting more in guaranteed dollars than the Dolphins were willing to spend. But really, how much could have Garrard been demanding? He didn't have much for selling power, especially after getting cut by a franchise that has its own quarterback problems. 

Maybe the question should really be, "Why didn't the Dolphins want Garrard?"

That's a little easier to picture. 

Miami is already 0-4, with a lame duck head coach in Tony Sparano and little chance of turning around the season with any quarterback south of Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady at the helm.

Management likely looked at the situation and asked themselves if it would be worth it to sign Garrard. Why spend a demanded amount of guaranteed money on Garrard? Garrard is far from a sure thing, especially when being brought in cold turkey four games into the season. Besides, Matt Moore and Rosenfels have each started in the NFL before. They aren't going to win you many games, but the Dolphins can't realistically expect to this season.

And there's a name that is down the road a few months who will likely go to the team with the worst record. You know him as Stanford's Andrew Luck. Think the Dolphins can see where this season is headed and postulated that Luck is the best case scenario for 2011? A 2-14 season might be worth it if you're bringing him in next season. 

And really, that's the franchise changing move for the Dolphins. Not bringing in ex-Jaguar washout David Garrard. So while you might ask why Garrard didn't make the move happen, you might want to think about it on the other end. Ill-advised or not, Dolphins management obviously has other plans.