Knee surgery has already cost David Garrard a chance to start for the Miami Dolphins, and it may also cost him his spot on the roster. Now that the Dolphins have named rookie Ryan Tannehill the starting quarterback heading into the 2012 season, the team must decide what to do with the other two former starters on its roster.
David Garrard and Matt Moore are due to earn $2.25 million and $2.75 million, respectively, in 2012 base salary. Add in bonus money, and the price tag for the pair against the salary cap is approximately $6.5 million, according to the Miami Herald.
That is a steep price to pay for two players who could rarely see the field this season. For that reason, the Herald expects the team to trade or cut either Garrard or Moore before the start of the season.
The smart money is on Garrard being the odd man out, due in no large part to his injury history. He sat out the 2011 season recovering from back surgery, and at 34 years old, he is unlikely to become less of an injury risk. Garrard had been a starter with the Jacksonville Jaguars for 5 seasons before joining the Dolphins, so it is unlikely that he would be comfortable in a backup role, anyway.
Moore probably does not want to play backup either, but that is exactly what the Dolphins signed him to do last year. Besides, he has not missed any time in training camp, making him far more familiar with the Dolphins' new offensive scheme than Garrard.
Since both Moore and Garrard are vested veterans, their full base salaries will become guaranteed money if they are on the roster for the first game of the regular season. For that reason, the Dolphins will move to trade or release one of them before the September 9 season opener.
There is a slim chance that the Dolphins could keep all three quarterbacks, with a fourth, Pat Devlin, returning to the practice squad. But Miami has only $2.31 million left in salary cap space, less than all but two teams in the NFL.
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Cutting one of their extra quarterbacks could give the Dolphins the flexibility to shore up its depth in key areas or finalize a contract extension with LT Jake Long. While having three starting-capable quarterbacks on the roster could be nice (especially if Tannehill falters early or gets injured), it might not be worth the opportunity cost of passing up on more depth elsewhere.
