As Trent Edwards talked to reporters about the large wrap on his right hand and Patrick Ramsey walked into the Jaguars locker room for the first time, David Garrard was at home resting and Todd Bouman (pictured), who might be the Jaguars' starting quarterback on Sunday, was down the hall signing a contract, again.
That was the state of the Jaguars' injury-ravaged quarterback position as of Wednesday at noon, as the Jaguars began preparation for Sunday's game in Kansas City.
"It's a pretty bad sprain," Edwards said of his right thumb. "We'll reevaluate it on Friday and see where I stand."
Edwards sustained the injury, he said, on his "fourth or fifth play" in Monday night's game against the Tennessee Titans. Edwards entered the game late in the first half, after Garrard had sustained a concussion. Garrard was not at the Jaguars' facility on Wednesday.
"I hit it on a helmet, on the top of a Titans defensive lineman's helmet," Edwards said.
Does he expect to be able to play on Sunday?
"It's too early to tell. The head coach will be the deciding factor," Edwards said.
Head Coach Jack Del Rio characterized his team's quarterback situation as follows: "We remain hopeful to get (Garrard) cleared to play this weekend. Edwards has his thumb wrapped. He won't take snaps today; he won't throw the ball today. Todd's back. Todd knows our offense well. We'll get Patrick up to speed as quickly as possible."
Garrard was at home resting on Wednesday. Del Rio said Garrard will undergo a medical examination "later in the week" that will determine whether or not he can return to action on Sunday.
"We have to prepare as though we may not" get him back, Del Rio said of Garrard.
Should that be the case, indications are Bouman would be the likely replacement.
"Having Todd here, it opens up the playbook," Del Rio said.
Bouman has been with the Jaguars off and on the past few years and is familiar with the team's offense. He was signed for the Eagles game three weeks ago, after Luke McCown was lost for the season to a knee injury, then released after Edwards had been claimed off waivers.
Ramsey is all new to the Jaguars. He spent the summer with the Saints until being released. At the time, he was recovering from a hamstring injury.
"You grind; spend a tremendous amount of time and soak in as much as you can," Ramsey said. "I know Todd's been in the offense. You guys are catching me as I just signed."
Del Rio is counting on his defense to pick up the slack. He referred to a similar situation the Steelers found themselves in during the first four games of the season, when Ben Roethlisberger was serving a suspension and injury forced the Steelers to play three games with fourth-string quarterback Charlie Batch.
"The Steelers played great defense and they rolled through the first month of the season, despite not having their starting quarterback," Del Rio said.
Any chance the Jaguars have of making improvement on defense would seem to hinge on their young safeties, Don Carey and Courtney Greene. It appears a personnel decision has been made to go with them at the troubled positions in what remains of the season.
"We elected to go with the young guys that have athleticism. We're going to go ahead, develop young guys and let them play. They are improving each and every week. We're going to let them grow," Del Rio said.
Wednesday's press conference provided answers to questions about Monday's loss to the Titans.
- Was Del Rio upset by Titans coach Jeff Fisher's play-calling in the final minutes of the game?
"I'm not sure why that's even a story. We have to get a stop there," said Del Rio, who added that he felt strongly that Fisher would've started taking a knee had Chris Johnson not ripped off a touchdown run.
- What about running so much time off the clock in the Jaguars' eight-minute, fourth-quarter drive?
"I wasn't real wild about the consecutive runs there. We spent too much time, in my opinion, but we got caught short in what Trent (Edwards) was able to do," Del Rio said, referring to Edwards' limited command of the playbook. "I thought we were too deliberate. I was frustrated by it and Dirk (Koetter) knows it," Del Rio added of his offensive coordinator.
- Should Garrard have picked up the blitz on the play that resulted in his injury?
"That was a missed assignment and then we had a drop. In that game, we had several opportunities to catch the ball and ignite and we did not catch the ball," Del Rio said.
The story of this week will be the player who'll be throwing the ball on Sunday.
