Daunte Culpepper Screwed Daunte Culpepper

Sigh...

When I heard Daunte Culpepper announced his retirement this past week, I was supremely disappointed. Culpepper was one of my favorite players to watch just a few years ago—when the Vikings had the Pro Bowl quarterback Culpepper and their talented wide receiver Randy Moss.

Newer NFL fans may know Culpepper as the quarterback for the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders, who did more bad than good when starting.

But for those who know of the real Daunte Culpepper in the early 2000s—well let's just say he should have been in the same category as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning by now.

The keyword in my previous statement is "should." In fact, Daunte Culpepper should not be retired—nor should he have represented himself as his own agent.

How is it that the likes of Kyle Orton, J.T. O’Sullivan, and even Chad Pennington have starting jobs in the NFL and Daunte Culpepper does not?

In his prime, Culpepper would, quite frankly, make those quarterbacks look like scrubs.

So why is Culpepper jobless right now?

Perhaps it is because the former Pro Bowler overestimated his value and didn’t realize that he is still considered damaged goods. After all, the same man that had 64 touchdowns in two seasons at one point in his career also has a history of serious knee problems (he tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL in 2005).

Despite his knee problems over the last three years, Culpepper did show some signs last season that his knee was better—so much so that he was offered a $1 million contract to back up Aaron Rodgers on the Green Bay Packers. It was also reported that the Pittsburgh Steelers had interest in him after reliable backup quarterback Charlie Batch was lost for the season.

Obviously, there was significant interest being shown by teams for Daunte Culpepper’s services—as a backup. Sadly, instead of taking one of those prominent backup positions and living to negotiate another day (like Byron Leftwich), Culpepper sealed his own fate by rejecting those offers—citing that they were too low for his “worth.”

Well, I have to say: This Daunte Culpepper of 2008 is not the Daunte Culpepper of the early 2000s. This is not the Daunte Culpepper that took the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC Championship game back in 2000 (albeit with a lopsided loss against the New York Giants).

Daunte Culpepper should not have emailed the NFL to death or retired, but rather swallowed his pride and taken a backup position. Now, Culpepper is on the outside looking in—probably wishing he could be reunited with Randy Moss on the New England Patriots, since Tom Brady is out for the season.

Look at Jeff Garcia. Every analyst thought his career was left for dead a few years back after injury-ridden stints with the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions. However, he came back to resurrect his career as a backup with the Philadelphia Eagles, leading them to the playoffs in 2006 after starter Donovan McNabb was injured.

As for last year, Garcia made the Pro Bowl as starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in addition to leading them to a division title and playoff berth.

While Kurt Warner has not participated in a playoff game in quite some time, he has managed to keep himself and the Arizona Cardinals relevant, throwing for 27 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. As of right now, Warner and his Cardinals are undefeated and is offensively clicking on all cylinders.

Maybe having an agent that’s not himself would have been a good idea for Culpepper. Maybe an agent could have provided Daunte with a little bit of discretion and common sense.

Don’t get me wrong. I hope Daunte Culpepper can come back one day and succeed in the NFL, but for now—he has no one to blame, but himself.

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