David Garrard is disputing a report that he spurned an offer from the Dolphins because he doesn’t feel like playing football right now, saying that he does want to play -- just not for the Dolphins.
“There’s been a lot of speculation about me that I don’t appreciate,” Garrard told Chris Mortensen of ESPN. “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 said he doesn’t think the Dolphins are the right fit for him because they only offered him a contract after starter Chad Henne suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.
“I talked to them in the very beginning – they were one of the teams that were very interested,” Garrard said. “But they basically said, ‘We want to give our guy [Henne] a chance, see how 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.”
Garrard did confirm the report that he didn’t think the Dolphins were offering him enough money once Henne went down.
“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 pay day. My thoughts are the money I did want guaranteed the rest of the year was miniscule with respect to what I accomplished over my career. It wasn’t outrageous.”
And Garrard said he thinks the Dolphins have so many problems that he alone wouldn’t be able to solve them.
“I didn’t think I have ability to change an organization in that situation,” Garrard said. “I’m just one man. This is a team sport. I told them I’ve been part of locker rooms with teams that are struggling. I know how the vibe can be in there and it’s tough.”
So Garrard wants to play for some team. But he wants that team to prove it really wants him -- and he wants that team to be in better shape than the Dolphins.