Former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard said Wednesday that his recovery from back surgery is going well and he's looking forward to the coming free-agency period.
"This is going to be a fun time," Garrard told the Florida Times-Union. "I've never been a free agent before. It's almost like you're being recruited again."
Garrard underwent surgery last fall to repair an injury suffered in training camp. The Jaguars cut him shortly before the season opener, and he missed the entire season.
Garrard told the newspaper that he's 90 to 95 percent recovered and thinks he'll be ready to conduct workouts for interested teams in March.
Garrard's comments are consistent with what his agent, Albert Irby, told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora earlier this month. Irby said Garrard was likely to be back in March or April, adding that a number of teams have asked about the former quarterback.
Garrard told the newspaper that he would prefer to start but would accept a position as a backup.
"I don't have a big ego," he said. "I love starting, I love being the guy that everybody looks up to. If that's not quite the situation ... I don't have any harsh feelings toward that."
Taken by the Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft, Garrard started every game he played in from 2007 to 2010, throwing for 12,460 yards with 71 touchdown passes against 41 interceptions. He said he bears no ill will toward the Jaguars, who finished with a 5-11 record, for cutting ties with him last year.
"I am so past that," he said. "Back then I was definitely upset, but just as the year went on, I just started feeling more bad for them. Those are my guys, those were my teammates. I wanted to be out there to go through the grind with them, but I couldn't. I eventually got over it. Move forward with new team, new teammates, new city. I don't look to the past; I just want to look to the future."
