David Garrard: QB Searching for Committed Relationship with New Team

I'm not sure if former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard is looking for love or if he's looking for a new team, but he's obviously needing something more.

Forget long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners and sending flowers to his house, Garrard just wants a team that will commit to him as much as he will commit to them.

He doesn't want to be a stop-gap, he doesn't want to just be a rebound.

Garrard is in it for the long haul, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN:

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"There's been a lot of speculation about me that I don't appreciate," said Garrard on Saturday. "I was going to lay low with the media, but I feel I have to protect my name. I just want to make it clear that I'm a football player, I want to be with a team and be with an organization that will be as committed to me as I will be to them."

Garrard admitted the Dolphins were one of the teams that initially contacted him after being abruptly released by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 6 and again this week when Miami starter Chad Henne went down for the season with a shoulder injury.

"I talked to them in the very beginning; they were one of the teams that were very interested," said Garrard. "But they basically said, 'We want to give our guy (Henne) a chance, see how he performs and if we don't like way it goes, we'll make a move.' Then it comes when (Henne) unfortunately gets hurt. My feeling is if you want me, prove it to me."

Consequently, Garrard wanted to reconcile conflicting reports that he declined the opportunity to sign with the Dolphins because of money, as well as his lack of desire to play.

"They were not willing to guarantee me the kind of money that reflects a real commitment and what I believe would protect me from being cut twice in one season," Garrard said.

"That doesn't mean I'm one of those players who thinks I'm worthy of another big payday. My thoughts are the money I did want guaranteed the rest of the year was minuscule with respect to what I accomplished over my career. It wasn't outrageous."

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The long and short of it is that Garrard is looking for a football relationship.

He knows that he can be the guy, and he wants a team to believe that he can be the guy.

The Dolphins wanted to bring him in as a stop-gap, and he just wasn't okay with that. Here is a quote from Garrard at the end of Mortensen's report that sums everything up:

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"Here's the bottom line: I'm staying in shape. I'm taking care of my body, my legs, my arm...I'm having regular massage treatments. I'm ready to play. I'm ready for the right opportunity. This (with the Dolphins) just isn't the right opportunity."

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Garrard is out there and looking, folks.

He's ready to love again, to play again, and hopefully to succeed again.

Now the only thing he can do is wait and see if anybody decides to take a chance on him.