Jeff Garcia
’s whirlwind tour of the NFL continued apace, with the free
agent quarterback set to meet this week with the Oakland Raiders
and work out for the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, according
to his father, Bobby Garcia. Garcia, who was in Cleveland earlier
in the week but planning to return to
Gilroy Wednesday, was set to work out for Denver on Thursday and
Seattle on Monday, his father said Tuesday night.
Jeff Garcia’s whirlwind tour of the NFL continued apace, with the free agent quarterback set to meet this week with the Oakland Raiders and work out for the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, according to his father, Bobby Garcia.
Garcia, who was in Cleveland earlier in the week but planning to return to Gilroy Wednesday, was set to work out for Denver on Thursday and Seattle on Monday, his father said Tuesday night.
The ex-Gilroy High, Gavilan, San Jose State and San Francisco 49ers quarterback was released last week by the Cleveland Browns, who signed him last year.
Garcia has already worked out for the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he met with Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan last Saturday at the National Football League’s scouting combine in Indianapolis.
The Gilroy native’s agent, Steve Baker, said Sunday that there was “a 50 percent chance” Garcia would sign with the Buccaneers, whose head coach Jon Gruden has long been an admirer of the three-time Pro Bowl signal-caller.
“He’s always liked Gruden,” said Bobby Garcia of his son. “Gruden wanted to sign him on the spot, but Jeff said, ‘Coach, I’ve got other opportunities I’ve got to consider first.’”
The elder Garcia said his son had a long telephone conversation Monday with former 49ers coach Bill Walsh, who brought the quarterback to San Francisco after Garcia’s championship season with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL.
“They talked about all the places Jeff is visiting, talked about the quarterback coaches at those places,” said Bobby Garcia, adding that Walsh told his son he had the ability to compete for a starting job with any of the clubs that have shown interest.
The elder Garcia said while his son would talk to the Raiders, Oakland’s offensive schemes were probably not a good fit with Jeff’s particular skills, a problem evident in Cleveland last season.
