Well I know of one 40 year old QB who will be in training camp, getting ready for a new start in a new league. That is right folks, the well traveled Jeff Garcia has signed on with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. Of course the Nighthawks were after a different former Oakland Raiders QB, namely Jamarcus Russell, but they may have had to settle for the 40 year old Garcia. The League has not made the official announcement yet, and Omaha Nighthawks General Manager Rick Mueller has said that he is negotiating with many players as UFL training camps are set to open August 16th.
We do have an admission for Garcia himself in an interview from the San Jose State University website. Garcia went to school there, and in the interview he stated his desire to take his football passion to Omaha and help that team have a good season. Since Garcia is out of options in the NFL, and the Nighthawks were still in need of a QB.
More than that the Nighthawks are an expansion team, and they needed a veteran to come in and show the guys how to pro football players. A guy like Jeff can execute the offense, show the younger players how to deal with the media, and all of the other thing veterans should do for the newer players. Since Jeff spent a year here in Detroit, Michigan I know how good of a locker room guy he is. With that being said though, even in the UFL, a 40 year QB is something of an oddity.
Sure the Nighthawks get a guy with an ok pedigree, and the potential face of their franchise. However, expansion teams struggle and I don’t think that matters what league we are talking about. I would have liked to see this team get a younger kid they could mold for the future, but maybe Matt Gutierrez or DJ Shockley will benefit from playing with Garcia in 2010.
Related Links:
• Omaha Nighthawks news • Omaha Nighthawks notes • The Business of the UFL •UFL Examiner
