JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jaguars' quarterback situation looked like this Wednesday: Starter David Garrard didn't make it to the training facility because of a concussion. Backup Trent Edwards didn't practice because of a badly sprained right thumb. And two guys off the street, journeymen Todd Bouman and Patrick Ramsey, split repetitions.
It's not exactly a recipe for success in the NFL.
But it's the best the Jaguars (3-3) could cobble together after losing Garrard and Edwards in Monday night's 30-3 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Throw in a season-ending knee injury to Luke McCown, and Jacksonville's quarterback situation is more unsettled than the team's revolving-door secondary.
Although the Jaguars hope Garrard and Edwards could return for Sunday's game at Kansas City, they're preparing like neither will be available.
"It's less than ideal," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "It certainly presents some challenges. ... As a football team, it's about a team finding a way, and we need to prepare to find a way to go up to Kansas City and get a win."
To make room for the quarterbacks, Jacksonville waived safety Gerald Alexander, who started the last two games, and linebacker Jacob Cutrera.
This is Bouman's fifth stint with the Jaguars, his second this season. The latest one could be his most important, especially since he took about 90 percent of the snaps in practice Wednesday.
Bouman watched the Monday night game at home in St. Cloud, Minn., received a call Tuesday morning and boarded a flight to Jacksonville later that day.
"I'm not preparing any different than I have the last how-many years," Bouman said. "You prepare every week like you're gonna play and you've got to be ready to go. You never know when the time's going to come. So you just wait to see what happens and work hard and get ready."
Bouman hasn't thrown a regular-season pass since starting three games for the New Orleans Saints in 2005. He has six career starts with the Saints and Minnesota Vikings, and he has thrown for 1,683 yards and 11 touchdowns with 11 interceptions in 11 seasons.
Bouman insists he knows coordinator Dirk Koetter's offense, especially since he spent the 2008 and 2009 preseason with the Jaguars. But as Bouman answered questions from the media after practice Wednesday, quarterbacks coach Mike Shula poked his head in the room and said, "Can we let him study some football, please?"
Ramsey had some catching up to do, too.
"I knew I was going to probably have an opportunity at some point," Ramsey said. "You don't sit there and root for anyone to be injured and out of work, but at the same time, I knew once I got healthy, I'd probably have an opportunity. This is my job. This is what I do, so I decided to stay prepared for it."
Ramsey, a first-round draft pick by Washington in 2002, has spent time with the Redskins (2002-05), New York Jets (2006), Denver Broncos (2007-08), Titans (2009), Detroit Lions (2009) and Saints (2010). He has 24 career starts in eight seasons, and he has thrown for 5,930 yards and 35 touchdowns with 30 interceptions.
Ramsey's experience could help him get a quick grasp on Jacksonville's playbook.
"I've played enough to not let it totally panic me, but I think at the same time, I'm going to press to be able to know as much as I can if that opportunity does come," Ramsey said. "I think we can certainly find a comfort zone, things that I'm comfortable with and familiar with and concepts that I've run before. They have a game plan to execute, and it's my job at this point to learn it."
If Garrard and Edwards don't play, Jacksonville's game plan probably will be run-oriented.
"It's about time," Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew said. "Why didn't it happen sooner?"
Jones-Drew, the cornerstone of the team's offense, expressed some frustration Wednesday with the way the season has unfolded. The Jaguars have been plagued by turnovers and dropped passes in their three lopsided losses, and Jones-Drew has averaged just 17 carries for 59 yards in those games.
Equally baffling, Jones-Drew has just five receptions for 26 yards in the losses.
"I don't want to get into why we're losing and stuff like that," he said. "I can't get all riled up anymore. I got to look at the positive side of it."
Positive side? With Garrard probably out and Edwards hurting?
"I think there's heightened awareness for the rest of the roster to pick it up and do all we can in the event we don't have our lead guy," Del Rio said.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
