Chad Pennington wants to stay with the Jets and hopes to come to an agreement with the team on a renegotiated contract. Pennington said yesterday on a conference call from Bradenton, Fla., where he is rehabbing his injured right shoulder, that the biggest issue is finding “middle ground.”

“I’m an optimist,” the quarterback said. “If everything works out the way I think it can work out, I’ll be a Jet. If that doesn’t happen, that’s okay, too, because I’ve enjoyed my time here. This isn’t anything personal against me. The Jets need to do what they think is necessary to take the organization to the next level.”

The Jets want to slash his base pay to make his contract more salary-cap friendly. The team is about $26 million over the cap and needs to come to a pact with Pennington before free agency starts Friday.

He is expected to have a salary cap number close to $12 million this season, including a $3 million roster bonus due in March. The Jets must also weigh whether they believe Pennington can return from two major shoulder operations in an eightmonth span and be effective.

“I’ve proven throughout the years there’s no reason to have that much doubt because I’ve come back from injuries and been successful,” Pennington said. “I understand their concern and wanting to make the right decision for the organization. That’s where we are as far as trying to get to middle ground and trying to make sure both sides share the risk and both sides are committed.”

Pennington and his agent, Tom Condon, rejected the Jets’ first offer of slashing his base salary to $1 million. Condon met with Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum last week at the NFL combine, and Pennington is willing to continue negotiating until something is settled.

Entering his seventh year in the NFL, Pennington said his rehab is going “great” and he should start throwing “fairly soon.”