Florham Park, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) - Quarterback David Garrard returned to the New York Jets on Thursday and the team placed him on the exempt list as they decide over the next two weeks if he can play.
Garrard signed with the Jets in March after missing all of last season with the Miami Dolphins due to knee surgery before the start of the 2012 campaign, but decided his injured knee wasn't healthy enough and he left the team.
However, after having time to heal, Garrard reached out to the Jets and they decided to bring him back and evaluate him over the next few weeks.
"I was able to take the whole summer off and let my body heal," Garrard was quoted as saying on the Jets' website. "I started training a couple of months ago and my knee feels great. I'm sitting at home, watching games thinking, 'Why am I at home? Why am I doing this to myself?' I didn't want to have any regrets one day."
Garrard hasn't appeared in a game since 2010 when he started 14 games and threw for a career-high 23 touchdowns as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
All 76 of Garrard's career starts have come with the Jaguars, who selected the New Jersey native in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft.
Garrard's best season came in 2009 when he started 16 games and threw for 3,597 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for 323 yards and three scores to earn his first and only Pro Bowl selection.
Over nine seasons in Jacksonville, Garrard compiled 16,003 passing yards, 1,746 rushing yards and 106 combined touchdowns in 86 career games.
The Jets have Matt Simms and Brady Quinn as backups to rookie starter Geno Smith. Mark Sanchez, the club's starter for the past four seasons, won't play this year as he recovers from shoulder surgery performed earlier this week.
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