It’s no secret that the Dolphins will likely be drafting a quarterback at some point in next month’s draft. They’ve been doing their due diligence by scheduling workouts with some of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s class in the same manner they conducted a similar search before taking Chad Henne in 2008.
Through this whole process, though, it’s important to maintain that Chad Henne could very well be the starter again in 2011, if not the more likely option to start the season over whichever rookie the Dolphins draft. Tony Sparano echoed that line of thinking today to the Palm Beach Post.
GM Jeff Ireland and owner Stephen Ross haven’t exactly been the most endorsing of Henne to the media this offseason, but Sparano gave him a firm vote of confidence. “(Henne) absolutely deserves a chance. No question about it,” Sparano said. “There’s other players that are pretty good quarterbacks in this league, that if I remember correctly, like their first year in the league were 3-13 (Peyton Manning). “All you have to do is go back through the 900-and-something snaps that this guy has played and say, ‘Did he show progress, did he get better in different areas?’ And yes, he did.”
Now, of course, we have to remember to take everything we hear from this regime with a grain of salt due to the fact that they tend to say one thing and do another in the offseason. And even though the Dolphins likely will, and should, find a new potential answer to the long term solution at quarterback, Chad Henne should at least be given the chance to compete for the job. It’s not too late for the light bulb to finally turn on in Henne’s head.
I still don’t think it’s likely, but like I’ve said before, Drew Brees had similar struggles to Henne in his first two years as the starter in San Diego. Competition needs to be brought in this offseason, there’s no denying that, but until someone else seizes the job, it’s still too early to write Henne off.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
