Dolphins’ quarterback Pennington may be done for season

The Miami Dolphins’ Chad Pennington may not be available to give his winless team a much-needed lift.

The quarterback dislocated his right shoulder and may seek a second opinion to determine how long he will be sidelined, a person familiar with his status said Monday. The person insisted on anonymity because the Dolphins have said little about the injury.

Teammates braced for a new quarterback, with backup Chad Henne expected to make his first NFL start in Sunday’s home game against the Buffalo Bills.

Other media outlets reported Pennington had a torn capsule and was likely to sit out the rest of the season.

Pennington hurt his shoulder Sunday in a 23-13 loss at San Diego, and he underwent tests Monday to determine the extent of the damage. An operation on the shoulder would be Pennington’s third since 2005.

Gore is sidelined

San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore is expected to sit out three weeks because of a right ankle strain.

The 49ers said Monday night that the strain was revealed in an MRI exam.

Gore injured the ankle on his only carry during Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He left the game after a four-yard gain and did not return.

Leftwich benched

The winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers benched starting quarterback Byron Leftwich and replaced him with second-year pro Josh Johnson, who takes over following one of the worst offensive performances in team history.

Coach Raheem Morris made the change a day after the Buccaneers fell to 0-3 while gaining only 86 yards in a 24-0 loss to the New York Giants. Leftwich completed seven of 16 passes for 22 yards and one interception.

Rams have injuries

St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger has a bruised rotator cuff on his throwing shoulder that probably will sideline him a few weeks, but that was the good news on the injury report. More significant: Leading wide receiver Laurent Robinson is out for the season because of multiple injuries to his right leg and safety James Butler might sit out a month because of a sprained left knee.

Russell keeps job

With Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell coming off an awful game against Denver, Coach Tom Cable isn’t ready to make a change at this point.

Cable said the Raiders need to stay the course and have more problems than just Russell’s performance. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 61 yards with two interceptions in the 23-3 loss to Denver that dropped Oakland to 1-2.

Cable also said he still has faith that Russell can develop into a top-flight starting quarterback.