Jacksonville Jaguars in 2009. Garrard was selected by the
Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round, with the 108th overall pick, of the
2002 draft. Head coach
Tom Coughlin saw him as the eventual successor to starting quarterback
Mark Brunell. Coughlin however was fired following the 2002 season, and the team drafted quarterback
Byron Leftwich with the seventh overall pick in the
2003 NFL draft. Leftwich replaced an injured Brunell midway through the 2003 season, and Garrard continued to serve as the team's backup. Garrard was diagnosed with
Crohn's disease in January 2004, and underwent treatment. Despite having surgery to remove a nearly 12-inch portion of his intestines in June, Garrard was healthy to start the
2004 season. His only start of the season came in Week 9 against Detroit when Leftwich was injured; he threw two touchdowns to zero interceptions, with his second touchdown coming in overtime to win the game. In week 12 of the 2005 season, Leftwich was injured on the first play of the game and ruled out the rest of the regular season. Garrard led the Jaguars on a 5–1 run through their final six games to secure a playoff berth. He threw for 1,117 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception for an 83.9 quarterback rating, and his lone loss came against the then–undefeated
Indianapolis Colts. Leftwich then returned as the starter for the
AFC Wild Card game, in which the Jaguars suffered a 28–3 loss to the
New England Patriots. In 2006, Garrard was named the starter in Week 8 and replaced Leftwich for the remainder of the season. Through his first seven games as starter, Garrard led Jacksonville to a 5–2 record, leading to speculation that the Jaguars might seek to replace Leftwich permanently with Garrard. He lost his final three starts however, and the Jaguars missed the playoffs. Entering the 2007 season,
Jack Del Rio attempted to avoid a quarterback controversy by naming Leftwich the team's unconditional starting quarterback. However, Garrard outplayed Leftwich in the preseason, and Del Rio named him the starting quarterback on August 31, 2007. The Jaguars released Leftwich the next day. In his first season as the team's starting quarterback, Garrard led the Jaguars to a 10–2 record and threw for 18 touchdowns and 2,509 yards in 12 games (he missed 3 games with a sprained ankle and sat out the season finale with the rest of their starters). He threw just three interceptions on the year, which gave him a quarterback rating of 102.2. On January 5, 2008, In the AFC Wild Card, Garrard led his team to a 31–29 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Down 29–28 with 1:56 to go, he led his team in a field goal-scoring drive highlighted by a 32-yard run on 4th and 2 that eventually set up the game-winning field goal for the Jaguars. On January 12, 2008, In the AFC Divisional Round, Garrard set franchise records with 22 completions and 278 yards, along with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception against the unbeaten
New England Patriots. However, the Patriots won the game, 31–20. On April 7, 2008, it was announced that the Jaguars and Garrard had agreed to a contract extension, worth $60 million for 6 years. Garrard played in all 16 games in both the 2008 and 2009 seasons, but the Jaguars only managed 5–11 and 7–9 records respectively. The team slumped behind multiple injuries to their offensive line, and new GM
Gene Smith ushering in a "rebuilding era." Garrard was named to the
2009 Pro Bowl, and finished the game with 183 yards and a touchdown in the AFC's win. He followed up his Pro Bowl appearance throwing for 23 touchdowns, 2,734 yards, a quarterback rating of 91 and an 8–6 record in 14 games in the 2010 season. In week 8, he completed 17 of 21 passes for 260 yards (a franchise record 12.4 average), four touchdowns, zero interceptions, a franchise record 157.8 rating, and rushed for a fifth score in a 35–17 win over the
Cowboys. Despite his Pro Bowl selection and a comeback year, Jacksonville drafted
Missouri quarterback
Blaine Gabbert with their first round draft pick. Though Del Rio insisted Garrard would remain the team's starting quarterback, he was released by Jacksonville on September 6, 2011, less than a week before the start of the regular season. After his release from Jacksonville, Garrard received interest from the Colts, Dolphins and Raiders. He instead decided to use his time off to have surgery on his herniated disk and prepare himself for the 2012 season.
Miami Dolphins On March 19, 2012, Garrard agreed to terms with the
Miami Dolphins on a one-year contract, and was assumed to be the team's starting quarterback for the year. On August 11, Garrard had arthroscopic knee surgery and was ruled out of all four preseason games. The Dolphins released Garrard on September 4, 2012.
New York Jets The
New York Jets announced that they had signed a contract with Garrard on March 11, 2013. Garrard announced his intention to retire on May 15, 2013, as consistent knee swelling impaired his ability to play. The Jets placed Garrard on the reserve/retired list on May 30, 2013. After resting his knee, Garrard decided to make a comeback and the Jets agreed to allow Garrard to come back on October 10, 2013. He was placed on the exempt list for two weeks. He was activated on October 21, 2013.
Retirement On May 8, 2015, Garrard signed a contract with the Jaguars to officially retire as a member of the team. ==Career statistics==