QB Jeff Garcia joins Omaha in UFL
It appears that quarterback Jeff Garcia’s NFL career is over, but that doesn’t mean his football career is over. Garcia signed with an expansion team of the United Football League, the Omaha Nighthawks.
The 40-year old Garcia enjoyed a successful, sometimes inconsistent NFL career. He was selected to four Pro-Bowls over his 11-year NFL career. He finished with career numbers of 25,537 passing yards and 161 touchdowns, with a passer rating of 87.5. His best season came in 2000 with the San Francisco 49ers when he threw for 4,278 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Garcia started his football career in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders in 1994. He was named the CFL’s most outstanding player in 1997. In his full three years as the starter, he led Calgary to records of 13-5, 10-8 and 12-6. In 1998 he led the team to the league’s championship game, the Grey Cup and was named the game’s MVP in a win over the Hamilton Tiger Cats.
Garcia played with the Lions, Browns, Eagles, Buccaneers and Raiders as well, but his best days came with the 49ers where he and Terrell Owens made a great duo before their relationship grew sour. Owens had seasons of 60, 97, 93, 100 and 80 receptions with Garcia under centre. Owens twice led the league in touchdowns during that run.
The relationship grew sour after Owens began praising Garcia’s backup quarterback Tim Rattay. Owens was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2004 season. Once in Philly, he blamed the 49ers decline in offensive production on Garcia. Garcia himself admitted that in his last season in San Francisco, the pressure of following in the footsteps of Joe Montana and Steve Young had gotten to him.
"Have somebody step into my shoes and feel what I had to deal with throughout that whole time in San Francisco. The dust would start to settle, and all of a sudden, more fuel was thrown into the fire. It was such a negative situation," said Garcia.
Garcia left for Cleveland, where he was released after one season. He signed with Detroit but missed his only season with the Lions with a broken fibula.
The following year, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Garcia as their backup to Donovan McNabb. When McNabb was injured in Week 11 of the 2006 season, Garcia had to take over for the rest of the season. He did a great job, leading the Eagles to a 5-1 record over the final six games and won the NFC East. The Eagles then won their first playoff game against the Giants before losing to the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round.
Garcia signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following season when he led the Bucs to a division title. They then lost in the Wild Card round to the New York Giants, the eventual Super Bowl champions. He lost his starting job in 2008 before getting it back due to injuries at the position. The Bucs failed to make the playoffs that year and Garcia was released.
The Oakland Raiders then signed Garcia last season to back up JaMarcus Russell, but Garcia was cut after preseason. He signed back with the Eagles after an early season McNabb injury, but didn’t play a game last season. After Michael Vick returned from suspension, the Eagles released Garcia. His stint lasted two weeks.
So now, Garcia’s NFL career seems to be over as there’s only room for so many 40-year old quarterbacks in the league. If he manages to recapture some of his old brilliant form, there's an outside chance he could find himself back in the NFL as a second or third string, but for now it seems he'll have to be content to ply his trade in a second-tier league.
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