Chad Pennington Replaces Chad Henne as Miami Dolphins' Quarterback Starter

Chad Pennington will take over as the Miami Dolphins’ starting quarterback, replacing Chad Henne with the team at 4-4 midway through the season.

The change comes three days after Henne threw three interceptions in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He hadn’t thrown a touchdown pass in the Dolphins’ past two games.

“This is not an indictment on Chad Henne at all,” Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said during a news conference. “At this particular time it’s something that I feel like I need to do for our football team.”

Pennington, in his 11th National Football League season, started three games for Miami last year before an injury to his throwing shoulder ended his season.

The 34-year-old Pennington led Miami to an 11-5 record in 2008, a season after the Dolphins went 1-15. Pennington, who spent his first eight NFL seasons with the New York Jets, is the league leader with a 66.1 career completion percentage.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net