Sparano: Moore is Dolphins' QB with Henne out for season

Chad Henne is set for season-ending shoulder surgery, so Matt Moore will be the Miami Dolphins' new starting quarterback, coach Tony Sparano announced Thursday.

The Dolphins signed Sage Rosenfels to replace Henne on their roster, but heading into the bye week, Sparano is more comfortable with Moore, whom the team signed during the offseason.

"It's Matt's job," Sparano said. "We got to get Matt ready to go."

Moore started 13 games over four seasons with the Carolina Panthers, and he has 16 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions in his career. His familiarity with the Dolphins' offense helped give Moore the edge over Rosenfels, according to Sparano.

"I don't think there's a team around that wants to lose their starting quarterback," the coach said. "To catch those people up with reps is hard to do."

The Dolphins moved Henne to injured reserve Thursday, officially ending his season.

"It's really disappointing," Sparano said. "The kids obviously had a lot invested in this whole thing."

Said Dolphins left tackle Jake Long: "It's tough. Chad's one of those guys, he's like me, he'll do anything he can to get out on the field. But he can't."

Henne separated his left shoulder while tackled on a busted play during the first quarter of last Sunday's loss at San Diego. The game might have been Henne's last with Miami, because his contract expires after the season.

Henne, a second-round draft pick in 2008, lost his past seven starts for the Dolphins. He's 13-18 overall as a starter in Miami and has thrown 31 touchdown passes and 37 interceptions in 36 total games.

Moore took over against the Chargers and will make his first start for the 0-4 Dolphins in their next game, Oct. 17 against the New York Jets. Moore took 150 snaps during three days of practice this week, when the Dolphins' only other healthy quarterback was rookie Pat Devlin, a member of the practice squad.

Moore will become the 16th quarterback to start for the Dolphins since Dan Marino retired following the 1999 season. The list includes Rosenfels, who started one game in 2004 and another in 2005. He also started 10 total games for the Houston Texans in 2007 and 2008.

Rosenfels, 33, had a strong preseason for the New York Giants before coming down with a blood disorder that sent him to the hospital in August. The Giants released Rosenfels on Tuesday, and he hasn't thrown a pass in a regular-season game since 2008.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.