Chad Pennington career stats:

65.6% completion percentage
13,738 passing yards
82 TD
55 INT
88.9 QB Rating (by comparison, Tom Brady's is 92.9)

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Let me start out by making sure everyone understands.  I DO NOT WANT CHAD PENNINGTON TO BE THE STARTING QB FOR THE K.C. CHIEFS.... EVER!

However...

Chad Pennington is one of the smartest QBs in the league, he simply does not have a great deal of athletic ability.  If he had Peyton Mannings body, he would probably have had a similar career.

Look at the Jets win-loss record during the Herm Edwards era there.  The years that Pennington was injured (which was fairly frequent), the team tanked.  But the years he was able to stay healthy, the team went to the playoffs (winning playoff games as well) every time.

Because of Penningtons frequent injuries and lack of great athletic ability, I think his time is a starter is over.  But he still has great value as a backup, especially for a team like the Chiefs that is committed to developing young QBs.

If Pennington is willing to take up a mentor role (and it is not clear yet if he is) and tutor the candidates in the Chiefs search for their franchise QB, I can think of no better candidate.  He also would have valuable veteran skills that far surpass Damon Huards if the Chiefs find themselves in a playoff hunt in coming years and the starter goes down.

The tie between Chad Pennington and Herm Edwards has been reaffirmed by both men since Edwards left New York for Kansas City.  There is obviously a huge bond between them. 

However, Brodie Croyle is also "Herm's boy" and I don't see Herm departing from "the plan" to find and develop a franchise QB just to help out a friend.  I think Herm will be very upfront with Pennington about what his role with the Chiefs will be, and that role can ONLY be as a backup mentor and that might be a role that Pennington would consider more in KC beside Herm Edwards than with any other team.

Damon Huard, sorry, but the only real valuable experience you can pass on as a journeyman backup is how to hold a clipboard.  If we must have a veteran backup presence, I can think of no better candidate than Chad Pennington.