Chad Pennington: One Recovery Away From an Unprecedented Accomplishment

The picture shows an image Chad Pennington has become all too familiar with. A team trainer taking a look at his injured shoulder. A shoulder that has been injured twice in his career already.

Unfortunately for the first round pick in 2000 (18th overall, yes he was the first of six drafted before Tom Brady, but anyways that's another article) he was injured in Sunday's game after a hit by San Diego linebacker Kevin Burnett.

The diagnosis, a torn capsule in his throwing shoulder.

Although Pennington is still seeking a second opinion from world renowned sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews, who has done two surgeries on Pennington's shoulder, I am going to assume the worse and that he'll be out the remainder of the season, which allows me to write this article.

In 2004 Chad injured his shoulder and missed three weeks. After returning to action with a rout of the Houston Texans, Pennington struggled the rest of the season and there was speculation that Pennington's shoulder was not fully healed. Even after a scuffle with the New York media and losses to the New England Patriots and the St. Louis Rams, the Jets managed to earn a wild card berth with a 10-6 record.

Pennington underwent surgery on his right shoulder in Birmingham, Alabama on February 4, 2005. It was later revealed that he had suffered a substantial tear in the right rotator cuff, as well as a large bone spur on that shoulder. A dismal performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in September and a lackluster one against the Miami Dolphins the following week led to speculation that the shoulder had yet to fully heal, but both Pennington and Jets coach Herman Edwards denied this, citing a lack of pre-season practice and Pennington's less-than-full grasp of new offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger's plays. On September 25, 2005, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Pennington once again suffered injury, although he re-entered the game later and almost led the Jets to victory despite not throwing well. However, tests later showed another tear in his rotator cuff.

On October 6, 2005, Pennington once again underwent surgery to repair his right shoulder. Pennington and the Jets expected that with more rehabilitation time than his first surgery, he should be able to have better strength and control with his throws entering the 2006 season. In the midst of the eventually-resolved labor talks of February-March 2006, Pennington restructured his contract with the New York Jets, ensuring that he remained with the team for at least the 2006 season.

The 2006 season was a year of inspiration for Chad Pennington, as he came back from his second rotator cuff surgery to lead the Jets to the playoffs and won the first of two Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year awards.

Amidst the Brett Favre controversy in 2008, Chad Pennington was battling with Kellen Clemens for the starting job in New York. On August 7, 2008, the Jets acquired Brett Favre, leading to Pennington's release later that same day.

One day later, Pennington found a new team, The Miami Dolphins, a team that went 1-15 the year before. All Chad did though was start all 16 games and finish 11-5. For his role in the Dolphins' ten-win turnaround, Pennington received notable MVP consideration from several major media outlets. He received four votes, and finished second to Peyton Manning for the 2008 NFL MVP. At the completion of the regular season, Pennington was awarded his second Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Fast forward to today.

Chad Pennington has always found a way to fight adversity and through injuries. Already being the only player with two NFL Comeback Player of the Year awards under his belt, all he needs is a full recovery to possibly win his third.

Is three comeback awards a sign of inconsistency? Don't bet on it. Lets not forget along with those two comeback awards, he is the NFL career leader in completion percentage.

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