The Jacksonville Jaguars signed quarterback Chad Henne to a two-year contract, the club announced today. Henne was scheduled to become a free agent on March 11 if he had not signed a new contract.
"One of our first priorities before free agency began was to get Chad under contract," Jaguars General Manager David Caldwell said. "Both sides wanted to get a deal done and Chad expressed his desire to remain a Jaguar. We have said from the beginning that we want to take care of our own players who fit into our culture. This signing allows us to be flexible in our approach to free agency and the draft. We were pleased with Chad's continued growth throughout last season and he provides us with a veteran presence in the locker room."
Henne, 6-3, 230, has played in 61 career games with 50 starts and completed 1,117 of 1,876 passes for 12,439 yards with 55 touchdowns and 62 interceptions. He has 12 career 300-yard passing games and 79 career completions of 25-plus yards. Henne joined the Jaguars as an unrestricted free agent in 2012 and played in 25 games with 19 starts over the past two seasons.
"We are really happy to have Chad back with us," Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley said. "I think it sends a clear message to our players that you come in here, work hard and we're going to try and take care of you. We were really impressed with Chad's leadership ability, his presence in the huddle, and his diligent work on and off the field to get better. Our staff knows what he brings to the field and the meeting room, and they are looking forward to continued growth."
In 2013, Henne started 13 of 15 games played for the Jaguars including the final 11 games. He was 305 of 503 passing for 3,241 yards with 13 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, establishing career-highs for attempts and completions. He threw for two touchdowns in four of the last five games and finished the season with two 300-yard passing games including a season-high 331 yards at Indianapolis in the season finale.
Henne spent four seasons (2008-11) with Miami after being selected in the second round of the 2008 draft. He started 13 games in 2009 and 14 games in 2010. Henne opened the 2011 season as the starter and played in four games before suffering a left shoulder injury in week four. He was placed on injured reserve on October 6. He finished the season 64 of 112 passing for 868 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions. In the 2011 season-opener, Henne threw for a career-high 416 yards against New England with two touchdown passes on 30 of 49 passing.
A native of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Henne was a four-year starter at Michigan where he compiled a 33-14 record as a starter. He finished his career 828 of 1,387 passing for 9,715 yards with 87 touchdowns and 37 interceptions. He finished his career with school records for career completions, attempts, passing yards and touchdown passes. Henne attended Wilson High School in West Lawn, Pa. where he finished his career with 74 touchdown passes.
