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Miami Dolphins know it's time to make room for Chad Henne



DANA POINT, Calif. -- The Dolphins want everyone to understand there is no quarterback controversy on the team because a healthy Chad Pennington will be the unquestioned starter at the beginning of the 2009 season, but it is equally set in stone that the team wants Chad Henne to be the starting quarterback by 2010.

And those facts will set into motion a series of conversations, negotiations and planning meetings that will begin in the coming months and play out in front of everyone in the preseason.

According to a club source, the Dolphins plan to give Henne extended playing time in the preseason while giving Pennington more limited time.

''We need to get Chad Henne ready to play,'' the source said. ``We don't think Chad Pennington has to play 12 quarters in the preseason to get ready for the regular season. But we do need to give Henne a chance to get ready because his time is coming.''

The Dolphins' thinking reverberates on several fronts:

• The team is convinced that Henne is going to be a good player. Although he played in only three games and threw only 12 passes in his rookie season, Henne's arm strength and practice improvement has impressed everyone from vice president Bill Parcells, general manager Jeff Ireland and coach Tony Sparano on down.

• Because of the confidence Miami has in Henne, the team is not interested in making a trade for a young but proven starting quarterback, such as Denver's Jay Cutler. The plan is to go with Pennington early this season and Henne by 2010.

• The Dolphins are not negotiating a contract extension for Pennington, 32, although he is in the final year of his contract. Such a negotiation would be difficult because the sides would approach those talks with different agendas.

Pennington would want to be paid as a starter, but the Dolphins would want it understood that Pennington is not going to be their starter after 2009 and would want his pay to reflect that.

• Sometime before the start of preseason games, Sparano and Parcells will talk with Pennington to gauge his ideas on how much preseason playing time he will require.

A decision then will be made on how much time Pennington will get, and Henne will get a majority of the remaining amount. Henne's amount of playing time is likely to be much greater than Pennington's.

• None of this means Pennington's days in Miami are necessarily numbered. The 10-year veteran would be considered a valuable leader and excellent backup should Henne struggle or be injured. That assumes Pennington would be willing to accept that role, which is not a certainty.

So why are the Dolphins entertaining thoughts of what to do with their quarterback situation when Pennington is coming off a stellar season in which he threw for 3,653 yards, completed 67.4 percent of his passes and posted an impressive quarterback rating of 97.4?

Because although Pennington is experienced and accomplished, the Dolphins believe Henne to be a potential upgrade once he gains experience.

Henne has better arm strength, and that could improve Miami's passing attack. The Dolphins also do not dismiss the effect Henne might have on the development of a receiver such as Ted Ginn Jr.

Ginn is probably more of deep threat catching passes over the top of the defense than one who catches an 8-yard slant and runs through the defense for a long gain. A stronger-armed quarterback likely is better-suited to complete the pass over the top.

''Don't you think we know that?'' the source said.

• Notes: Ireland confirmed that the Dolphins received a sixth-round NFL Draft pick from the Oakland Raiders in exchange for center Samson Satele and also swapped fourth-round picks as part of the deal. Miami's pick in that fourth round improves 18 spots. . . . The Dolphins were awarded no compensatory draft picks Monday, but AFC East rival New England was awarded three -- a third-rounder, a fifth-rounder and a sixth-rounder. No other division team was awarded a pick.

LINK >> Miami Dolphins know it's time to make room for Chad Henne - Football - MiamiHerald.com

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