With Tom Brady being backed up by an undrafted rookie (Brian Hoyer . . . or is it Bobby Hoying . . . or is it Bobby Brady?) and a quarterback who was converted to a receiver and who’s now being converted back to a quarterback (Isaiah Stanback), and with the Panthers having a quarterback who might be in the midst of a full-blown case of Steve Blass disease (which would be fitting since he’s already had Tommy John surgery), there’s a need for a sound veteran presence in both places.
So how about Jeff Garcia? Raiders coach Tom Cable said recently that Garcia was released because he asked to be. Since Garcia hasn’t announced his retirement, we can only assume that he’d still like to play.
Unless he plans to return to the CFL, Garcia needs to find a team in the NFL that wants him.
Per a league source, there’s “some interest” in Garcia, but nothing substantive yet.
Garcia, as a vested veteran, would have been entitled to his full base salary if he were on a Week One roster and thereafter was cut. As teams complete their first games of the season, they may sign vested veterans like Garcia with much lower exposure for termination pay, if the veteran gets a pink slip.
Our guess is that Garcia will wait to make a decision on his future until after all of the Week One games have ended. If, after all, Pats quarterback Tom Brady is injured on Monday night against the Bills, Garcia’s leverage suddenly will spike.