Matt Mooretook the first snaps at quarterback when the Miami Dolphins opened training camp on Friday, but free-agent addition David Garrard likes his chances of earning the starting job.
"I think my chances are pretty good," Garrard said in remarks released by the Dolphins' public relations department. "I don’t think they would have me here or even say that it was open competition if my chances weren’t good. I know I can still play. I’ve just got to continue to prove it on the field and that’s what’s going to be the deciding factor is how we perform on the field."
The decision on who starts in Miami will be determined by the coaching staff's evaluation of the first few weeks of training camp practices and the first two, perhaps three preseason games. Garrard, who missed all of 2011 with a back injury, will also have to show that his body can hold up to the inevitable contact.
The 34-year-old will have plenty of opportunities to state his case, beginning on Saturday when he'll take the first-team reps that Moore received on Friday.
"We’ve got a lot of snaps left and we’ve got some games to play," Garrard added. "Those will be more of the deciding factors than just who led in training camp with the ones."