As rumors began flying that the Jets are candidates to trade up with the Texans and land the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, which they would use on quarterbacks Matt Leinart or Jay Cutler, Chad Pennington broke his silence and sounded ready to fight for his job, assuming he still has one.
“My arm and shoulder are fine,” Pennington was quoted as saying in yesterday’s Sarasota Herald Tribune. “I’m anxious to get started.”
Pennington, who has been rehabbing his second rotator cuff injury at the IMG Academies in Bradenton, was fishing. He will be fishing for a new team if ongoing negotiations in Indianapolis between his agent, Tom Condon, and new Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum, do not come to an amicable conclusion. Condon has rejected the Jets’ proposed 2006 pay cut from $9 million to $1 million.
In the first public acknowledgment that he was either insulted or stunned or both by the Jets’ opening salvo, Pennington said: “They want to pay me less than what most backup quarterbacks are making.”
Pennington apparently was joking when he referred to a Post story in which two anonymous players suggested the Jets would be better off cutting him. “I’m glad I’m down here and not up there,” Pennington said. “I’ve heard my teammates don’t want me back.”
But Curtis Martin, who carries the most weight in the locker room, definitely wants Pennington back, as does Laveranues Coles.
No matter what happens, the Jets’ quarterback position will be up for grabs come training camp. Texans GM Charley Casserly is openly shopping the top pick, which the Jets would use on Pennington’s successor. The Jets are logical partners, because disgruntled defensive end John Abraham would have great appeal to the Texans, who are desperate for a pass rush. In addition, the Texans have a crying need to protect their recently re-signed QB, David Carr, and can grab blue-chip left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson at No. 4 should they swap picks with the Jets.
“I think there’s value in our pick,” Casserly said. “Whether it’s Reggie Bush, Vince Young or Matt Leinart, those three players are going to produce trade offers.”
