Daunte Culpepper Retires

Nine year veteran Daunte Culpepper has retired from the NFL. The former Pro-Bowl quarterback had been a free agent, and was unable to find a fitting job with any NFL team. At only 31, Culpepper’s retirement is sudden and unexpected.

As recently as 2004 he was able to put up elite numbers. That season Culpepper had 39 touchdown passes and a league leading total of 4,717 yards passing. Combined with his 406 yards rushing, Culpepper gained over 5,000 yards of total offense in 2004. It was a season that quarterbacks, and coaches, dream of.

Since the 2004 season though, his fortune has turned downward. He would go on to suffer a horrific injury in the 2005 season, damaging three of the four major ligaments in his right knee. The injury marked the end of an already disappointing 2005 season, where Culpepper had struggled early.

The injury would also mark the last game of Culpepper’s career as a Minnesota Viking. During his recovery, he and the Vikings drifted apart philosophically and Culpepper was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a second round draft pick. Unfortunately a change of scenery did not bring a change of results for the quarterback. His tenure in Miami was much a continuation of his 2005 season in Minnesota. The Dolphins struggled early in 2006 before Culpepper himself ultimately succumbed to his knee again, needing a second surgery.

In 2007 Culpepper once again found himself at odds with his employer. While he continued to rehab his knee, the quarterback revealed that his second operation had been more serious than he had initially disclosed. This started what would be a messy and public divorce for Miami and Culpepper.

After trading for quarterback Trent Green, the Dolphins forbid Culpepper to participate in team drills. This policy was both revealed and highlighted when Culpepper was escorted off of Miami’s practice field by a security guard. While the team tried to trade him, Culpepper demanded his release and refused to restructure his contract to oblige any trade. Eventually he would get his wish and be released outright.

His next and final stop in the NFL was with the Oakland Raiders. Initially signed as a backup, Culpepper would eventually start when incumbent quarterback Josh McCown was injured. With number one pick JaMarcus Russell unavailable after not signing until the season had began, the job opening could have been a re-launching for Culpepper’s career. His play was inconsistent though, with five touchdowns and five interceptions in his six games started.

Perhaps even more disappointing, for a third consecutive season, Culpepper would have his season ended by an injury in 2007. During a practice, he challenged a teammate and former sprinter to a footrace. Culpepper injured a hamstring during the race and missed the remainder of the 2007 season. Oakland quickly named JaMarcus Russell their starter for the 2008 season after the last game of 2007, and Culpepper was let go as a free agent.

With many teams potentially in the market for a quarterback this off-season Culpepper had every reason to believe he would end up in somebody’s camp. He is, after all, just three seasons removed from playing at a Pro-Bowl level. Being only 31 and finally healthy, it seemed inevitable he would get another chance.

Throughout the preseason Culpepper was linked to several different teams in the rumor mills. It was reported that he turned down offers to serve a backup role with both Green Bay and Pittsburgh, believing the deals were no good. And while quarterbacks with arguably less talent and undeniably worse track records have contracts, the right deal never did materialize for Culpepper, and the former star announced his retirement on the same day the 2008 NFL season opened.

Culpepper went so far as to say he was never offered a fair chance by any NFL team this off-season. One of the few professional athletes to negotiate without an agent, he believes his unorthodox practice of representing himself was off-putting to NFL executives and coaches.

Part of the statement Culpepper released upon retiring chastised the NFL, declaring that, “I now understand why so many people with the NFL community are uncomfortable with a player really learning the business. The NFL has become more about power, money and control than passion, competition and the love of the game.”

His statement went on to pay homage to the late Gene Upshaw and Culpepper asserted that retiring would allow him to, “…focus on the enjoyment of watching some of the greatest athletes in the world play the game I love without the distraction of waiting for those elusive return phone calls.”

Assuming no team lures the three time Pro-Bowl quarterback out of his early retirement, he will finish his career with 142 touchdown passes, 92 interceptions and quarterback rating of 89.9.

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.