" One month from free agency, Chad Pennington is already fighting an inner battle over what his next stop should be.

Should he sign with the team that offers him the best chance to return to a starting quarterback role he held with the Dolphins until getting injured in Week 3 at San Diego last year? Or should he take the best backup role he can find in the best overall situation, even if that means staying in South Florida as Chad Henne's mentor?

"I've got all kinds of little voices in my head talking to me every day," Pennington said Thursday afternoon after participating at an NFL-sponsored clinic at the Boys and Girls Club. "It's going to be a tough decision."

Pennington's rehab from Oct. 1 shoulder surgery is going well, he said. He is working out 4-6 hours a day, five days a week, often at the Dolphins training facility in Davie.

He has summoned Dolphins quarterbacks coach David Lee to the practice field to help with his footwork, and Pennington believes Dolphins decision-makers are keeping tabs on his rehab, even if no formal talks about his future have commenced.

"I'm still under contract until March 4," Pennington said, "so I can use their services until they say, 'Get out of here.' It would be dumb not to, you know?"

Pennington is due in Birmingham, Ala., on Feb. 15 for his next visit to Dr. James Andrews, the orthopedist who has performed all three of his shoulder surgeries. Pennington said he has been throwing for close to five weeks and has been pleased with his progress."