49ers waive Jeff Garcia
Salary cap blamed for ousting of Gilroy native, who struggled recently with injuries

Pinnacle File Photo

By JOHN BAGLEY
Pinnacle Staff Writer
    Say it isn’t so. Gilroy’s favorite son is no longer a 49er.
    On Tuesday at team headquarters in Santa Clara, officials from the organization made it clear that three-time Pro Bowler Jeff Garcia would no longer wear the uniform of the team he grew up rooting for by placing him on waivers.
    “He planned on playing his whole career in San Francisco,” said mother Linda Garcia from her home in Gilroy. “But he’s not looking back; he’s looking forward now and he’s doing well.”
    On Tuesday night, Garcia and his family went out for a quiet dinner in San Jose. He could not be reached for comment.
    It is expected that Garcia will not be on the open market for long as a slew of teams are already interested in talking with him.
    “He had five good years here and it’s time to move on,” said Linda Garcia. “You just can’t please everyone. When you play for the home team, there’s even more pressure. He wanted to be a great player and make everyone proud.”
    Team officials insist that the decision to drop Garcia was made solely in order to free $1.7 million against the salary cap, but speculation over on the fate of Garcia had been growing for some time.
    It first came to the forefront last season when the 34-year-old quarterback finished the year by completing a career-low 57.4 percent of his passes.
    Clearly, the regression stemmed from agonizing injuries to his back and ankle, but playing in pain made him look erratic at times, which drew criticism from wide receiver Terrell Owens and from fans, who claimed he couldn’t throw deep.
    Backup Tim Rattay came in for the injured Garcia and looked impressive at times during a three-game stretch in the middle of the season, which only added fuel to the fire.
    Concerns were heightened in the off-season as it became clear that resigning the star quarterback, who holds the franchise’s single-season record for passing yardage, would become a monumental task for the salary capped-strapped squad.
    And, although the club insists that it didn’t impact negotiations, the issue came to a head when the team suffered a public relations hit after Garcia was arrested in San Jose for drunk driving in January.
    On Monday, Garcia’s arraignment on then drunk-driving charges was delayed until March 15. He faces two misdemeanor charges from his Jan. 14 arrest.
    At Tuesday’s press conference, the team’s General Manager Terry Donohue said the decision was the hardest that he ever had to make and insisted that the move was done as a necessary evil to help pull the team out of “cap hell.”
    “He’s been a warrior throughout his five-year career here,” said Donahue. “This decision was based on cap ramifications and long term visions of this team. This is certainly not Jeff Garcia’s fault. This was an emotional decision for me. I’m a real proponent of Jeff Garcia’s.”
    Garcia’s release, while not necessary for the team to get under the cap this season, will create plenty of maneuvering room in the next several years.
    As it stood on Tuesday, the 49ers are roughly $1.5 million under the 2004 cap. “We predict by 2005 that we will be $4 million or so under the cap,” Donahue said. “And the year after that, we’ll be about $14 million under. So we see that this decision will help us keep future stars like Andre Carter, for example.”
    The 49ers waited until the last possible day to make their decision, since Garcia was due a roster bonus of $500,000 on March 3—the first day of the free-agent signing period.
    Garcia was about to enter the fourth season of a six-year, $36 million contract. His release came before Tuesday’s 1 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) deadline for all teams to be in compliance with the NFL’s $80.6 million cap threshold.
    Although his fans in the South County area might be, the news should come as no surprise as it was reported that Garcia rejected a cut in his base salary from $9 million to $5 million last weekend.
    His cap number had gone beyond $12 million this year because of an escalator clause that transformed his base salary into the league’s franchise number for quarterbacks.
    Garcia had earned in excess of $20 million over the last two seasons—more than any other quarterback in the NFL.
    Garcia’s departure elevates Rattay to the starting spot. Just as Garcia had to play under the shadow of Steve Young and Joe Montana, Rattay will find himself in the same boat.
    For a team that basis success solely on winning Super Bowls, Rattay’s position isn’t always the most envious—and keeping up with Garcia’s numbers won’t be an easy task for the 26-year-old.
    A graduate of Gavilan College and a star at San Jose State, Garcia first made his mark in the Canadian Football league. In 1998 he led the Calgary Stampeders to a 1998 Grey Cup (Canada’s version of the Super Bowl) title and was named the game’s MVP.
    In 1999, he signed with the 49ers and made a name for himself with his tenacity on the field, scrambling ability, accurate passes and his ability to lead the team.
    In his five seasons with the 49ers, Garcia started in 71 of his 74 appearances. He completed 1,449 of 2,360 passes for 16,408 yards, with 113 touchdown passes, 56 interceptions and a passer rating of 88.3. He also ran for 1,571 yards and 21 touchdowns—averaging five yards a carry.
    During his best seasons with the Niners, Garcia threw for more than 3,000 yards three times and had a 4,278-yard season in 2000. He later joined Montana and Young as the only 49ers to pass for at least 3,000 yards in three consecutive seasons.
    Purging Garcia’s salary will clear him from the books in 2005 but still cost the team about $10.3 million against the cap for 2004. That means the 49ers will devote $28 million of their allotted $80.6 million cap space this season to players who are no longer on the team.
    Although it’s not known where Garcia will make his new home, whatever NFL city it’s in his parents will be there to support him.
    “Whatever makes him happy as a person makes us happy,” said Linda. “We followed him when he went to Canada and we’ll follow him wherever he goes. We have no hard feelings and we’re excited about his future.”
    So are all of his fans in Gilroy.