Chad Pennington Suffers Shoulder Injury on Dolphins' Opening Series

MIAMI -- Just two plays into his second stint as the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, Chad Pennington went down with a shoulder injury. Pennington did not return to Sunday's game, a 29-17 Dolphins win.

Chad Henne, who was demoted to backup on Wednesday in favor of Pennington, entered the game and completed an 11-yard pass to fullback Lousaka Polite on third-and-11 to set up Ronnie Brown's 2-yard touchdown run. Pennington was 1 of 2 for 19 yards before he left the game. He had been hit on a first-down pass -- an incomplete to Anthony Fasano -- but looked OK on the next play, a 12-yard completion to Brian Hartline.

Miami called timeout following that pass, then Henne entered the game as Pennington walked to the Dolphins' locker room.

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Pennington suffered a season-ending injury to the same shoulder in the third quarter of a Week 3 loss at San Diego last year and underwent his third reconstructive surgery. He rehabbed it during the offseason and said he felt fine during his first practice as the starter on Wednesday. He actually he said he had the best throwing day since he came to the Dolphins from the New York Jets just before the start of the 2008 season.

Neither Pennington nor Sparano showed any concern over the fragility of Pennington's shoulder this week, but that injury just two plays into his 20th start for Miami is not what either of them had in mind.