Dolphins contact Pennington's agent

DAVIE, Fla. — Another week, another former Bill Parcells quarterback that may be joining the Miami Dolphins.

A source said Thursday that the Dolphins have reached out to the agent of quarterback Chad Pennington, who was released Thursday afternoon by the Jets in wake of the Brett Favre trade with Green Bay. Last week, former Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter was brought to Davie for a private try-out with the Dolphins, though he left town without a contract.

Head coach Tony Sparano said Thursday morning that he is "happy" with the three quarterbacks presently in camp, but a source close to the situation said that the Dolphins already have been in contact with Pennington's agent, Tom Condon, about his client.

On Thursday, in an interview with CBS reporter Lesley Visser, Parcells did not deny having an interest in Pennington.

"I never rule out anything," Parcells said, "but what people have to realize about Miami is where in this world we are right now. We're trying to build this team preferably with young players that could maybe grow up together, and by the time we're finished, we hope we have a pretty good product and that the maturing didn't take that long."

Pennington does not have any history with Sparano or Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland, but he does have several close ties to this new regime.

Parcells drafted Pennington with the 18th overall pick in the 2000 draft when Parcells was the general manager of the Jets. And offensive coordinator Dan Henning was Pennington's quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in 2000, Pennington's rookie season.

The Dolphins also are familiar with Condon, having negotiated with him in April over another one of his clients, rookie offensive tackle Jake Long.

Pennington, 32, compiled a career 88.9 passer rating in eight seasons with New York. Despite not having the NFL's strongest arm, Pennington has a career 65.6 completion percentage, the highest in NFL history among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 pass attempts.

"From what I've heard about him, I've only heard that he's a very intelligent player," Sparano said Thursday morning. "And he's always been pretty accurate, with what he did with the ball. I know the guy's a competitor."

The Dolphins may have to compete with several teams for Pennington's services, including the Chiefs, Bears and Vikings, though a report by the Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday said that the Bears are not interested.

Still, Sparano downplayed any interest in Pennington, to bring him in to compete with current quarterbacks Josh McCown, John Beck and Chad Henne.

"I'm happy with the people we have here right now," Sparano said. "We have three quarterbacks right now on the team, and we're finding it hard right now to get all three of those guys the work they need. But we're doing that."

On Thursday, the three Dolphins quarterbacks each said they try not to worry about reports of other quarterbacks coming into camp.

"They always tell you that you're not only competing against the guys on your team, but you're competing against every other person at your position in the NFL," Beck said. "That's just part of being in this business."

As Henne spoke with about a dozen reporters after practice, the head of the Dolphins public relations department interrupted Henne to make sure he knew about the Pennington reports.

Henne did.

"They bring guys in and out," Henne said of his Dolphins bosses, noting that the Dolphins have already waived four players during camp. "That's the first shock that I noticed. Guys are coming in and out, and their lockers are shipped out the next day.

"It just shows how the NFL is a business."

Pennington has been hampered by shoulder problems since injuring his rotator cuff in 2004. He has started 16 games just once in his six years as a starter, and has topped 3,000 yards only twice.

Pennington had two surgeries on his rotator cuff in 2005, and was limited to three games that season. He came back in 2006 to play in all 16 games, setting a career high in passing yards (3,352) and winning The Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year.

Last year, Pennington was hobbled by a high ankle sprain to begin the season, but came back against the Dolphins in Week 3 and scored three touchdowns in a 31-28 win. After the Jets fell to 1-7 under Pennington, he was replaced as a starter by Kellen Clemens. Pennington finished the season with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions in nine games.

Ben Volin writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: bvolin AT pbpost.com. Staff writer Edgar Thompson contributed to this story.