National Football League

Garrard needs surgery for herniated disk

Published Oct. 17, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Former Jacksonville Jaguars starter and free agent David Garrard, who had been in talks with the Raiders, found out Monday morning that he needs immediate surgery for a herniated disk (L4-L5), an injury he said occurred during training camp.

“I wanted to be totally up front with them. It’s not something that I wanted to hide. I’ve been feeling the pain for awhile, but recently it got to the point where the only time I didn’t have pain was when I was laying down,” Garrard said.

When the Raiders called Sunday night, Garrard wanted to get the results from the second medical opinion he sought before proceeding with Oakland.

“The results showed that I needed surgery. I’ve had pain since training camp but now it shoots down all the way through my calf,” Garrard said. “I was trying to rehab it, but it ended up making it worse. When I finally got another MRI, it showed a herniated disk.”

The Raiders looked elsewhere for Jason Campbell’s replacement, trading for Carson Palmer on Tuesday.

Campbell, who suffered a broken collarbone in Sunday’s 25-17 home victory over the Cleveland Browns, is having surgery and will need time to rehab.