The Miami Dolphins' climb from their place as one of four winless teams just became a whole lot more interesting: Quarterback Chad Henne will require surgery to repair a shoulder separation and miss the rest of the season, multiple team sources said Thursday.
Veteran quarterback Sage Rosenfels has signed a terms sheet with the Dolphins and is taking a physical Thursday, a league source told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora. Rosenfels, a former Dolphins quarterback, was placed on injured reserve by the New York Giants in August with a blood illness, but he ultimately was released with no injury settlement.
Rosenfels also has played for the Washington Redskins, Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings. He has a 62.5 career completion percentage with 30 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in 10 NFL seasons.
Negotiations with several other quarterbacks were unsuccessful Tuesday and Wednesday, as the Dolphins looked to land a veteran to compete with Matt Moore, who was the only other available quarterback on the roster.
The Dolphins currently are in their bye week, but they have practiced each of the last two days and will practice again Thursday.
They play their next game one week from Monday -- Oct. 17 -- against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
It seems reasonable to anticipate Moore's experience in Miami's current offense will earn him the start in that game. During his duties as Henne's replacement Sunday, Moore completed 17 of 26 passes for 167 yards with an interception. He also took the starting repetitions during Tuesday's practice, although he was the only healthy quarterback at the time.
"He looked good," Sparano said of Moore's first practice Tuesday. "He did a good job out there. It's the most reps he's taken in a while. He did a good job and had good recall, good control of the offense. There's no install (Tuesday), just old playbook stuff."
Moore, to this point, hadn't been vying for the starting position, which clearly belonged to Henne throughout training camp and into the season.
Henne has been among the team's brighter spots this season, looking more impressive with his decisions, leadership and throws than many anticipated. He suffered the shoulder injury during a botched handoff in the first quarter Sunday.
Henne ends his season after completing 64 of 112 passes (57.1 percent) for 868 yards and four touchdowns with four interceptions. He'd already been sacked 11 times through just four games.
Adding an interesting dynamic to the situation, Henne is scheduled to become a free agent after this season, which will leave the Dolphins in an odd situation. Henne and the team will both need to decide at some point whether to continue their union after an improved but limited body of work this season.
For now, though, the Dolphins simply will be focused on something else: Getting this team turned around.
