1. Trading Chad Pennington is not only risky, he’d rather be a backup in Miami than a starter elsewhere: Ever since Brett Favre kinda-sorta-but-not-quite-yet retired on Tuesday afternoon, it’s been hard not to notice that the Dolphins have four quarterbacks on their roster, three of which you could envision taking game snaps this regular season.
Surely, the Dolphins won’t keep four quarterbacks on their roster this season. And surely, Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland realizes he can trade one of his quarterbacks for a future draft pick. It’s not a terrible idea – a local columnist fully endorses trading Pennington in today’s newspaper – but there are a few reasons why the Dolphins should hold off.
“First of all, we don’t know if he’s going to retire,” Pennington quipped on Wednesday.
But it’s also a risky move that would hurt Miami’s quarterback depth. The team has Super Bowl aspirations this year, and if Chad Henne goes down, are the Dolphins really going to hand the keys to the Porsche over to Tyler Thigpen, a fourth-year pro who never had a quarterback coach until he came to Miami last year and has a career passer rating of 73.8?
While Tony Sparano has said he hasn’t determined his backup quarterback, the bet here is the smart, veteran Pennington would get the call over the talented but young Thigpen. Certainly no offense to Thigpen, but he simply can’t match the experience and pedigree that Pennington, when healthy, brings to the position. And Thigpen, eight years younger than Pennington and with a healthier shoulder, may even have more trade value, anyway.
Then there’s this: Pennington is really happy in Miami. He doesn’t mind backing up Henne. He is a great mentor for the younger players on the team. He wanted a no-trade clause in his contract this offseason, but instead will get a $1.5 million bonus if he is traded.
I asked Pennington specifically about the Vikings on Wednesday, and why would he rather be a backup in Miami than a starter elsewhere?
“I really enjoy who I work for and who I work with, and I think that’s important as you become a veteran in this league,” Pennington said. “I have a role and a niche here, and I understand our staff and our staff understands me. The way we play offense, the way Tony wants us to play as a quarterback, that’s me. He appreciates those little things that quarterbacks do that aren’t in the stat sheet.”
“But at the same time, I understand the league and I understand the possibilities of what could happen. So like I said in the spring, I’m prepared to get cut and I’m prepared to start 16 games, and everything in between.”
Unless the Vikings – or another team desperate for a quarterback, like, say, the Bills — offer a second- or third-round draft pick for Pennington (which I don’t see happening, given Pennington’s injury history and advancing age), the Dolphins would be best served by keeping him around.
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