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Faced with the task of slashing about $26 million from the salary cap over the next two weeks, the New York Jets are attempting to renegotiate the contract of quarterback Chad Pennington, who missed much of the last two seasons because of an injured throwing shoulder.

This story, first reported by ESPN insider Chris Mortensen during Sunday's Pro Bowl broadcast, is now being independently reported by the Associated Press, New York Daily News and New York Newsday.

As Daily News beat writer Rich Cimini suggested this morning, the action came as no surprise, considering the bloated cap situation and the uncertainty of Pennington's twice-surgically repaired throwing shoulder, but the amount of the proposed cut is eye-opening.

Pennington is due to make $9 million in salary and bonuses for 2006, and the Jets want to slash that to a $1 million base salary, according to the person.

He would be able to recoup the difference by achieving various incentives.

The clock is ticking. If the two sides don't reach an agreement by March 3 -- the start of the league year, when Pennington is due a $3 million roster bonus -- the Jets could release the 29-year-old quarterback.

In case you missed it, Pennington signed a $64 million, seven-year deal two years ago. He is expected to have a salary cap number close to $12 million this season, including the above-mentioned $3 million bonus due in March.

Even if the Jets cut him, they would take a salary hit of about $10 million because of previously paid bonuses prorated against this year's salary cap.

Complicating the issue is the lack of an extension to the league's collective bargaining agreement with the players' union. The contract expires in 2008, but 2007 would be an uncapped season, leaving questions about the length and size of deals with free agents.

But these are more than routine steps to get under the salary cap, a person familiar with the talks told AP sports writer Dave Goldberg this morning, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations are ongoing.

Rather, they are related to the right shoulder injury and questions of whether Pennington's arm will return to full strength.

Pennington hurt his shoulder during the 2004 season, missed three games, then returned for the end of the regular season and into the playoffs. It was clear then that his arm strength was significantly reduced and after the season the team said he would have rotator cuff surgery.

He returned this year but was injured in the third game of the season and again had surgery, missing the rest of the season. The team's problems were compounded when Jay Fiedler, acquired as insurance in the offseason, injured his shoulder seven plays after Pennington and also was lost for the season.

That left the Jets with third-stringer Brooks Bollinger and 42-year-old Vinny Testaverde, and the team finished 4-12. After the season, head coach Herman Edwards left for Kansas City and Mike Tannenbaum replaced general manager Terry Bradway.

As the Sports Xchange noted, Bollinger (seven touchdown passes, six interceptions) performed admirably with little support from a banged-up offensive line, a struggling running game and, it seems, his own head coach, as insiders believe it was Edwards who suggested anonymously late in the 2005 season that Bollinger wouldn't even be considered for the No. 2 job in 2006.

Signing Testaverde was a good idea in terms of getting a veteran presence, but not so good when the 40-something often had to run for his life behind a shaky offensive line. The Xchange added that Fiedler won't be retained and that Kliff Kingsbury, who was signed late last year, isn't considered a realistic option. ...

So now, as Cimini suggested, it comes down to an old-fashioned game of poker.

The Jets probably don't want to cut Pennington because they'd get stuck with an enormous bill (in the form of "dead" money on their 2006 cap), but they also don't want to pay franchise money for a quarterback who might not be healthy enough to start.

At the same time, Pennington probably doesn't want to start over -- realistically, how much would he command on the open market? -- but he also has a tremendous amount of pride and might not be willing to swallow such a massive cut.

When it was suggested in October after his second surgery that he should feel indebted to the club, which has paid him $22 million for 2004 and 2005, Pennington replied, "I've paid a price for this organization. I put it on the line -- hurt, not hurt, you name it."

He sounded more flexible at the end of the season, saying, "We've always done a good job on both sides, working things out and getting things straight. I've put my basic trust in them, and they'll get things taken care of."

For what it's worth, Profootballtalk.com editor Mike Florio is predicting that agent Tom Condon will advise Pennington to hold firm at his $9 million in expected income. Not because it's in Pennington's best interests to force a release (as Florio noted, it isn't), but because it's not in Condon's best interests to be associated with such a significant pay cut.

Then again, Florio doesn't believe the Jets really want Pennington to eat $8 million in salary and bonus money -- a decrease of nearly 90 percent.

Instead, he suggests, it's an opener aimed at allowing Pennington and Condon to save some face by working the number back up to $4 million or so for 2006, with a $1.5 million roster bonus and a $2.5 million salary.

Even if Pennington stays, the Jets almost certainly will acquire a veteran to compete with him. The new regime, headed by Tannenbaum and head coach Eric Mangini, also might draft or otherwise acquire their quarterback of the future.

In an article published Jan. 27, Newark Star-Ledger staffer Dave Hutchinson reported the team was seriously considering drafting Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler in the first round of the April draft should they trade down from the fourth pick overall.

As for the free-agent route. ... Unless he's tagged or re-signed in the next two weeks, the top free agent would likely be the Chargers' Drew Brees, who also is recovering from shoulder surgery.

The Jets' new offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, tutored Brees as the San Diego quarterbacks coach. If the Chargers don't put the franchise tag on Brees, he'd be a natural fit with Schottenheimer, although his shoulder would have to be a concern.

Tennessee's Billy Volek was considered a strong candidate before former Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger left New York for Denver when Mangini came on board. Oakland's Kerry Collins might also be in the mix.