Chad Pennington is expected to miss 12 weeks with a dislocated and fractured left wrist he suffered in Saturday night's preseason game against the Giants, Jets coach Herm Edwards said Sunday.
However, sources within the organization told ESPN.com that the injury might sideline the Jets' starting quarterback for the entire season.
Doctors inserted seven pins into Pennington's wrist during surgery in New York late on Saturday. He's expected to wear a splint for the next week, then wear a cast for three-to-four weeks after that.
Edwards said that in addition to the dislocation, Pennington
broke four bones that connect the knuckles to the wrist and also
has ligament damage.
"The surgery went very, very well," Edwards told reporters Sunday. "It will not affect his career. At this point it's a day to day matter."
Pennington was tackled from behind by the Giants' Brandon Short after throwing away a pass with just under two minutes remaining in the first half and landed awkwardly on his wrist.
Pennington had X-rays at Giants Stadium, which revealed the fracture-dislocation, and was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York for immediate surgery. He could be released from the hospital as early as Sunday evening.
Vinny Testaverde, who turns 40 in November, entered the game in place of Pennington. Third-string quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who sprained his left knee Saturday, moves up to No. 2 on the depth chart.
"We ran a blitz ... I came up the middle untouched," Short said. "Chad rolled to his right. I must have grabbed his legs right as he threw the ball, and he fell down on his arms and was just lying there.
"I asked him if he was all right, and he just kept lying there until the trainers came out. It's unfortunate to see someone go down like that."
This is the second time in as many weeks a starting quarterback was injured in a preseason game. Last week, Falcons starter Michael Vick broke his right leg against Baltimore and is expected to be out at least six weeks.
Pennington replaced Testaverde in the fifth game of last season. Testaverde started 1-3, and Edwards decided a change was necessary.
Pennington engineered a tremendous turnaround for the Jets, who ended up winning the AFC East and finishing the regular-season 9-7 after a 2-5 start. He led the NFL with a 104.2 passer rating and 68.9 completion percentage. He finished 275-of-399 for 3,120 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Against the Giants, Pennington was 4-of-12 for 58 yards before getting hurt.
Testaverde, meanwhile, took his new role as backup with class.
But the 17-year veteran saw limited time in the preseason before
Pennington's injury. In the first three games, he played one series
and went 1-of-3 for 8 yards and an interception.
He saw his first extended action Saturday and finished 5-of-11 for 48 yards.
Now Testaverde becomes the starter again. Two weeks ago, Edwards
said he wanted to figure out a way to get Testaverde to 40,000
yards passing. Testaverde is 442 yards away from the mark, which
only eight others have reached.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.