Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne said Monday he had no choice but to undergo surgery on his nonthrowing shoulder and disputed former NFL quarterback Jim Miller’s remark that he “packed it in.”
Speaking to reporters for the first time since his season-ending injury against San Diego, Henne said he wishes he would have had the chance to make his case to the Dolphins, over a 16-game season, that he’s a viable long-term starter.
The Dolphins have not ruled out re-signing Henne to be a backup, but Matt Moore likely will remain in that role (he’s due $2.5 million in 2012) if he plays well the rest of the season. Henne, an impending free agent, said the Dolphins have given him no indication if they want to re-sign him.
“Having a new coordinator, new system, new philosophy, you want to play in that situation and show them what you’ve got,” said Henne, who was appearing a team charity event at a Fort Lauderdale Publix. “Hopefully, they can see what I did in 3?½ games. Hopefully, I get a chance to come back here. If not, my time will be done.
“But I’m glad I had the opportunity to play here. I think we’ll retire down here.”
Henne finished his fourth season with four touchdowns, four interceptions and a 79.0 rating, which ranks 22nd in the league. (Moore is 21st at 79.7.)
On injured reserve and not eligible to return this season, Henne said the “severity of the injury was much more than what we expected. When they went in, they found other things out that weren’t good news. It’s not a separation, what went wrong. I’ll be back to normal, hopefully in four to six months.”
Henne said both the Dolphins’ doctor and a California-based doctor told him surgery was necessary.
Miller, who does not know Henne, said last week on WFTL-640 that Henne wanted to protect himself because he will be a free agent. The Dolphins took the unusual step of disputing Miller’s comments.
Henne, a Michigan alum, jokingly noted that Miller went to Michigan State and attributed his comments to “not getting the full facts and not knowing the type of person I am. I’ll play through anything. I’m a tough guy. In my senior year in college, I had a third-degree separation, which should have had surgery. I never had surgery. I played six weeks with it.”
Henne, who has been in contact with “great friend” Chad Pennington, has been watching film with Moore but not attending practice. He hopes to attend Dolphins games later this season.
