DAVIE, Fla. — It's official. Chad Pennington is the Miami Dolphins' starting quarterback.

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said today that Pennington will start the Sept. 7 season opener in Miami against his former team, the New York Jets.

Pennington was the face of the Jets the past eight seasons and arrived in camp this year competing with Kellen Clemens for the starting job. The Jets cut Pennington more than two weeks ago to clear salary cap space once they got Brett Favre from Green Bay.

Pennington ranks first in NFL history among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 attempts with a 65.6 completion percentage.