"Two Sundays ago, former Jaguars quarterback David Garrard spent the day watching football games lying on his back in his living room with his feet straight up in the air. The pain he felt in his leg was too unbearable for him to do anything else.

On his wife's suggestion, he went to the emergency room, where he received an anti-inflammatory shot and painkillers to help.

But Garrard realized then that this, combined with numbness in his calf, wasn't any normal leg problem. Shortly thereafter an MRI revealed a herniated disk that would need surgery. Garrard, whom the Jaguars released Sept. 6, will have surgery soon to repair the disk, he hopes this week. It will sideline Garrard for four to six weeks, making it unlikely he'll play this season. He's hoping to recover perhaps by late this season, but at the latest in time to join a team for the 2012 season.

Garrard made it clear he intends to return to football."