Dolphins QB Pennington remains unsure on his way to comeback

The Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington has not been sure whether he would be able to play again, even after completed the first phase of rehabilitation from season-ending shoulder surgery.

He will fly to Birmingham, Ala., to consult with Dr. James Andrews, who performed the operation Oct. 2. And there they will plan program for the second phase of rehabilitation, which will take about six weeks. And the quarterback said he would not decide whether to play again until March.

“I can’t make the decision until I get to the point where I see how I feel and how it responds,” Pennington said at a Dolphins luncheon. “Then I can say I’ve given it everything I can give it to make the right decision for me and my family.”

And even he decided to play again he would unlikely to be a No. 1 quarterback again, as his replacement, second-year pro Chad Henne (interesting, does the Dolphins did it on purpose in choosing quarterbacks of the same first name?), has staked a strong claim to the No. 1 job by going 4-2 as a starter. But at least, Pennington said he would consider wearing Dolphins jersey still, even though his current contract will expire after the season.

Dolphins ended QB Pennington’s season by putting him on IR and signing Thigpen

The Miami Dolphins acquired quarterback Tyler Thigpen from the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2010 draft pick on Tuesday, after putting Chad Pennington on IR to create a roster spot. That means the right shoulder injury ended Pennington’s season.

Pennington hurt his shoulder on Sunday while playing against the Chargers at San Diego and he will have to undergo the third operation on the same shoulder since 2005. With his absence, the team has chosen Chad Henne to take over his job, and it will be the first time for the second-year pro to start a game on Sunday. Thigpen and rookie Pat White will shore up depth behind Henne in their first year of wearing miami dolphins jerseys.

The third-year pro Thigpen went 1-10 as a starter with the Chiefs and threw for 2,608 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year. He failed to get a starting job after the Chiefs acquired Matt Cassel in the offseason, and lost a battle this year with Brodie Croyle for the No. 2 job.