Henne working hard to grab Dolphins' starting QB job

Chad Henne, who's pushing his Miami Dolphins teammates to work out together during the NFL lockout, recently reiterated his desire to stay in South Florida and compete for the starting quarterback job despite a rocky 2010 season.

"For me, it was more just being around the guys and trying to be a leader on the football team and showing the guys -- the coaches and teammates -- that I want to be around them and I want to be in Miami," Henne told AnnArbor.com last week at a hospital fundraiser.

Offensive tackle Jake Long, Henne's teammate at the University of Michigan and with the Dolphins, said the quarterback has organized workouts in an effort to keep the team bond intact until the lockout ends.

"Chad's a great leader, and I was blessed to be able to come down here with him and have a friend when I first got drafted," Long said. "He's taken on that leadership role."

Henne started 14 games last season and passed for 3,301 yards and 15 touchdowns with 19 interceptions. He was benched in favor of Chad Pennington midseason but returned to the top of the depth chart after Pennington was injured. However, Henne was replaced by Tyler Thigpen in the regular-season finale.

Entering season, Pennington is a free agent, and Thigpen is the only other quarterback besides Henne on the Dolphins' roster.

"I'm going to have to compete wherever I go, and there will always be a guy in line to take for the starting job and, hopefully, I'm that guy," Henne said.