Jaguars QB Garrard suffers sprained ankle

Oct 23, 2007 - 5:11 AM JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) - Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard left Monday night's 29-7 loss to the Indianapolis Colts with a sprained left ankle.

Garrard limped off the field after he was sacked by Eddie Johnson with 11:42 to play in the second quarter.

After conferring with trainers on the sidelines, Garrard left the field and went to the locker room.

"I didn't think it was that bad a deal. It really didn't hurt, but on the way back to the huddle, I could feel it just give way," Garrard said. "I really couldn't put any pressure on it. In 21 years of playing football, I've never been injured like that before, so it was something new to me to not be able to continue playing that ballgame.

"It was definitely a hard pull to swallow, but I heal fast and I'll be back as soon as possible."

Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said he expects Garrard to be out for a while due to the severity of the sprain.

"You know, its one those deals where we'll know more tomorrow when we see how it responds," Del Rio said. "He had a pretty good sprain on there so I would think that in all likely hood he will be missing some time. Most likely he will be missing some time but I will know more tomorrow."

Quinn Gray replaced Garrard and threw an interception two plays later. It was the first interception thrown by a Jacksonville quarterback this season.

Garrard returned to play with 5:18 left in the first half and his ankle heavily taped.

But the sixth-year quarterback did not come out for the second half and the team announced he would not return.

Gray, who is in his fourth season out of Florida A&M, replaced Garrard. He had attempted just 21 passes in three seasons.

Wide receiver Matt Jones, the team's first-round pick in 2005 who was inactive for the game, was designated as the emergency quarterback.

Del Rio said the team will either bring in a veteran or promote rookie quarterback Lester Richard from the practice squad if Garrard cannot play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.