There will be no public proclamations, but Byron Leftwich and David Garrard are likely to be informed in the next couple of days as to which quarterback will be the starter in Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans.
"All I can do is try to get this ankle right and let everybody know how I feel," Leftwich told reporters prior to Wednesday's practice, the first of the week for the Jaguars.
Coach Jack Del Rio said Leftwich's performance in practice would determine his status on this week's injury report, which must be released by four p.m. on Wednesday. Leftwich began last week as "questionable."
Del Rio informed Leftwich on Thursday of last week that he would not be the team's starting quarterback in Philadelphia, the result of a sprained left ankle. Del Rio then informed Garrard that he would be the team's starting quarterback.
"My feeling is that if he's healthy he'll be the quarterback," Garrard said of Leftwich.
"I would say by Thursday," Garrard added when asked when that decision might be made known to the two quarterbacks. "You don't want to go past that. He'll probably tell you it's a game-time decision, but he may tell us early."
Del Rio remained broad in his discussion of the quarterback situation during Wednesday's press conference. Clearly, it's a topic of conversation he wants to avoid.
"We're all about team and winning. The big question everybody wants to talk about is quarterback. I'll make the best decision for this football team and put the best people on the field to win this football game," Del Rio said.
Del Rio was asked if the issue is Leftwich's injury or a crossroads decision on the team's official starting quarterback.
"That's a nice way to ask in detail a question I'm not going to answer," the Jaguars coach said. "Byron is going to practice. I'm going to wait to see how practices goes before I decide his status on the injury report.
"At some point, I will communicate to those who need to know. It's unlikely I would wait until Sunday morning," Del Rio added.
Garrard said he was approached by Leftwich prior to last Thursday's practice, after Del Rio informed Leftwich he was being held out of the game. "He said good luck to me, 'You've got the start.' Jack came to me later on and told me I would get the start," Garrard said.
Leftwich said on Wednesday that his left ankle is stronger than it was last week at this time. "I'm feeling better," he said. "The test is going to be how I feel when I get out there (in practice) and do football stuff. We'll see in practice today," Leftwich said.
