New York ? Chad Pennington quickly became the odd man out once Brett Favre joined the New York Jets.

Pennington was released Thursday, ending the quarterback’s eight-year, injury-plagued career with the Jets. He was expected to find a new home soon: Minnesota and Miami were mentioned as possible destinations.

“It’s a bittersweet moment for us,” general manager Mike Tannenbaum said early Thursday when announcing the trade for Favre.

A first-round pick in 2000, Pennington became the popular face of the franchise for several seasons.

The Jets jettisoned Pennington to clear salary-cap space once they got Favre from Green Bay for a conditional draft pick.

The 32-year-old Pennington had three years, plus a team option year, remaining on his contract. He was due $4.8 million this season, and his salary cap figure is $7.8 million.

Pennington ranks first in NFL history among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 attempts, with a 65.6 completion percentage. He was often recognized as being a leader in the huddle and an intelligent field general, but was dogged in his time in New York for his lack of arm strength.

Bill Parcells, the Dolphins’ vice president of football operations, drafted Pennington with the 18th overall pick in 2000 when he was the Jets’ general manager. That relationship, combined with Miami’s struggles at quarterback in training camp with Josh McCown, second-year man John Beck and rookie Chad Henne, make the Dolphins a possible candidate to nab Pennington.