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According to New York Newsday beat man Ken Berger, Chad Pennington's agent has rejected the Jets' proposal to slash the injured quarterback's base salary for 2006 to $1 million and force him to earn the remaining $8 million he is owed through incentives.

Berger went on to suggest the impasse is not surprising, but it means new general manager Mike Tannenbaum and Pennington's high-powered agent, Tom Condon, "are in stare-down mode."

The Jets have until March 3 to decide if they can live with Pennington's current contract, negotiate a cap reduction or release him. Pennington is due a $3-million roster bonus that day, a payment that would bring his earnings to $25 million on the seven-year contract extension he signed in September 2004 -- a span during which he has played only 18 games.

Pennington's cap figure was scheduled to be $12 million this season, but the team already has the discretion to reduce it to $7.5 million by prorating all of his $6-million base salary against the cap for the next four seasons.

But the Jets, who are more than $20 million over the projected cap, need to cut deeper.

As noted in a previous article, they don't want to pay the $3-million bonus and believe Pennington, who has yet to resume throwing after the second rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder in two seasons, should account for the fact his shoulder has kept him from making it through the full 16-game schedule in each of the last two seasons.

Indeed, Pennington has missed 22 of 48 regular-season games due to injury the past three seasons. But the former Marshall star's camp is opposed to forfeiting any of the $9 million he is due, a scenario that -- if unresolved -- could lead to his release, a person with knowledge of the situation told Berger.

Meanwhile, it appears that not all of Pennington's teammates are confident in his ability to lead the team.

In fact, two members of the Jets' offense told New York Post beat writer Mark Cannizzaro they believe the Jets should release Pennington.

The comments reveal a definite crack in a foundation that was built with Pennington as the leader in the Jets' locker room as well as the face of the franchise.

"I think we should release him; he's too injury-prone," one player told Cannizzaro.

"He's like an egg back there," another player said, referring to Pennington's fragility. "I mean, look at the ways he's gotten hurt. He hasn't even been hit that hard. The injuries have come from awkward hits and falls. I think we should just cut him."

To review. ... Pennington signed a seven-year, $64 million contract at the end of the 2003 season after an impressive 2002 campaign in which he took over for an injured Vinny Testaverde in Week 2 and played well enough down the stretch to propel the team into post-season play despite a 1-5 start. The Jets finished with a 9-7 record and a wild-card playoff win (they lost in the divisional round).

Pennington was immediately considered a star on the rise.

But as Cannizzaro reminded readers, then came the injuries, "one after another after another."

He suffered fractured bones his left wrist and hand after falling awkwardly in a preseason game against the Giants. That cost him the first six-plus games of the following season.

In 2004, Pennington first injured his right shoulder against the Bills in the eighth game, and missed the next three starts before returning to finish the season with what was later revealed as a tear in his rotator cuff.

Off-season surgery followed, but he never was right from the beginning of last season, throwing with even less zip on the ball than he was able to muster before the injury. Facing Jacksonville in the third game last season, he had his right arm pulled back awkwardly on a sack and suffered another tear of the rotator cuff, ending his season.

Pennington is 21-15 as a starter in the regular season, with a 2-2 postseason record. His best chance to regain a starting job is with the Jets; if he is released, Pennington likely will have to sign with another team for the veteran minimum and vie for a backup job. ...

Stay tuned. ... I'll undoubtedly have more on this developing story in coming weeks. ...

In a couple of related notes. ... As expected, the Jets have decided to part ways with cornerback Ty Law, who is due an $11-million bonus March 3. Fullback Jerald Sowell and quarterback Jay Fiedler are also likely candidates for release.

Also according to Berger, the Jets are trying to get running back Curtis Martin, center Kevin Mawae, guard Pete Kendall, tackle Jason Fabini and receiver Laveranues Coles to accept pay cuts or reworked deals.

Newark Star-Ledger staffer Dave Hutchinson reported this morning that Martin, who turns 33 in May, has been receptive to reworking his contract and will remain with the team. He is scheduled to earn a base salary of $6.2 million next season.

Mawae, coming off surgery to repair a torn left triceps, apparently will refuse to take a pay cut and will ask the Jets to release him if they can't handle his projected $4.5-million cap figure.