Chad Pennington Lands With Dolphins After Jets Release
Chad Pennington apparently didn’t like his tenure as a free agent because it took all of one day to jump off the street.
The man cut by the Jets to make room for Brett Favre has agreed to a two-year deal, worth $11.5 million, Friday with the Miami Dolphins.
Miami, which finished 1-15 last season, saw Pennington as the best quarterback option as he reunites with Bill Parcells — who drafted Pennington as the Jets’ general manager in 2000 — and the 32-year-old is expected to win the starting job for the rebuilding Dolphins.
“I have enjoyed it,” Pennington said Friday in his first public comments since his release. “I’ve learned a lot, become a better professional and a better man because of my experience and my time in New York. I don’t regret or feel ashamed about anything that happened to me in my time in New York.”
One of the hardest-working and most cerebral quarterbacks in the league, Pennington is the perfect fit to tutor the youngsters on the Dolphins’ roster who could eventually become a successor.
A first-round pick of New York in 2000, he ranks first in NFL history among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 attempts with a 65.6 completion percentage. He was often recognized as being a leader in the huddle and an intelligent field general, but was dogged throughout his time in New York for his lack of arm strength.
“The most difficult part is just the realization that the organization no longer wants you,” Pennington said. “You spend eight years there and, in the blink of an eye, you’re no longer wanted there.”
He was the NFL’s comeback player in the year in 2006 after undergoing surgery on his shoulder.
After playing nine games for the Jets in 2007, Pennington completed 179 of 260 passes for 1,765 yards and 10 touchdowns to go along with nine interceptions.
