As The Daunte Turns

Do you want to know the definition of a really bad day for an NFL QB?

It's when a team chooses to sign Tim Couch instead of you.

That is exactly what happened to Daunte Culpepper this weekend, as the Jaxsonville Jaguars decided to go with the NFL's version of Nikoloz Tskitishvili instead of Daunte. What is especially troublesome about this development for Daunte is that the Jaguars were assumed to be the perfect fit. It was a foregone conclusion that he was going there. So what went wrong? Evidently the deal fell apart because Daunte wanted a one year deal, and the Jaguars were looking for something in the 2-3 year range. In examining the situation, both sides were right to stick to their guns. The Jags want two things, 1.) security behind Byron Leftwich and 2.) someone to push Leftwich. A one year deal would not have really fulfilled either of those needs. For Culpepper, a one year deal will help him prove that he is truly healthy whil allowing him the ability to pursue a starting job next year, or at least get premium backup money. Any contract Culpepper will sign this summer will be at a large discount, so minimizing the length of this deal is to Culpepper's advantage.

Now that the Jaguars are out of the running, where does Daunte land this year?
If you trust John Clayton over at ESPN, Tampa Bay looks like a contender. If that were to actually happen, and the Bucs added Daunte to a stable that already hosts Jeff Garcia, Chris Simms, Bruce Gradkowski, Luke McCown, and the rights to Jake Plummer, I would quit blogging and apply to become the new Bucs GM, since the current one is obviously an imbecile. All kidding aside, Clayton also throws out the Rams and Ravens as possible destinations for Daunte. I'm not sure where he came up with those two teams but hey, it's John Clayton, so I'll cut him some slack.

The momentum in signing Culpepper however, seems to lie with the Raiders. Culpepper is scheduled to work out for the Raiders in California today, and signing with Oakland just might be the perfect deal for him. JaMarcus Russell is still holding out, and with him unlikely the be ready to start at the beggining of the season the Raiders are looking at starting either Josh McCown or Andrew Walter at QB for the first 6-10 games of the season. Would an 80-90% healthy Culpepper be better than those two guys? Probably. Would starting for half a year be better for Culpepper's free agent chances next year than sitting behind Jeff Garcia in Tampa Bay? Certainly. Is there a better QB for Russell to learn from than Culpepper, the man he is a clone of? Not a chance.

Now...there is one other destination for Culpepper; Minnesota. Ok, maybe Daunte did not leave on the best of terms, but for goodness sakes, the Vikings are headed into the season with Tavaris Jackson as their starter with Brooks Bollinger as the backup. If the Vikings were a baby Zygi Wilf and Minnesota management would be charged with child neglect. Seriously, how can you not at least consider bringing in Daunte for a year? After seeing Jackson flee the pocket constantly and throw interceptions in the few games he played last season, does Brad Childress really believe that he couldn't use one more year of learning before being thrown into the fire? Maybe they are blind up in Minnesota, but Daunte looks like a good fit there to me. Wherever he lands, one thing can be for sure; he won't be looking to stay there long.

Daunte's Future Home

Now that the dust has settled in Miami and the Dolphins are poised to part ways with Daunte Culpepper, the obvious question arises of where exactly Daunte will play. At this juncture there aren't any teams where Daunte could step in and start, although isn't it ironic that the Vikings would probably kill to have him back at this point? Seriously, you don't think they would want Daunte over Tavaris Jackson or Brooks Bollinger? I digress. After searching through various news reports and hearing various rumors, four destinations have jumped out as possible destinations for Daunte next season: Jacksonville, Baltimore, Detroit, and...Winnipeg?

Jacksonville: Byron Leftwich is in the final year of his contract, and the Jaguars already seem to have wavering confidence as to whether or not he is their starter for the future. David Garrard stepped in last season after Leftwich was injured, and had moderate success despite the Jaguars experiencing a three game losing streak to end the season while Garrard was under center. All indications would point to the Jags not wanting to make Garrard their long term starter either, so after Leftwich departs next season Culpepper would have the opportunity to compete for the starting job on an offense featuring three talented young wide recievers in Matt Jones, Ernest Wilford, and Reggie Williams, as well as rookies Maurice Jones-Drew and Marcedes Lewis. The Jaguars would seem to be the best situation for Culpepper in terms of prolonging his career, as he would likely step into the starting role after a year of learning the offense, and then have available to him a variety of weapons. It is rather ironic though, that in that scenario the jaguars would essentially be trading a big, strong-armed, immobile QB in Leftwich for a big, strong-armed, (now) immobile QB in Culpepper.

Baltimore: The Ravens have a slightly different problem than the Jaguars, as while Steve McNair was good for them last season there are some indications that the 34 year old QB may be nearing the end of his career. That problem is compounded by the fact that the Ravens have Kyle Boller, the current Darko Milicic of the NFL, as their backup. Culpepper would step in and immediately push Boller down the depth chart, but unlike in Jacksonville his future options to start in Baltimore are much more unclear. There is no certainty that this season or the next would be the last for McNair, and it is unlikely that Culpepper would go into a situation where he would not have a chance to compete for the starting job. The Ravens do have some nice offensive weapons in Todd Heap and Willis McGahee, but it is unlikely Culpepper would get the chance to throw to them any time soon.

Detroit: Jon Kitna was shaky for the Lions this past season, throwing the second most interceptions (22) of any quarterback in the league. Much like in Miami the future at the QB position is on the horizon in Detroit, as the Lions used a 2nd round choice in this year's draft on Drew Stanton. Stanton likely would not be ready to start for at least two seasons, and with management likely to have a short fuse with Kitna now that Calvin Johnson has been added to an already talented WR corps, Culpepper could have a legitmate chance to start this season and throw his patented long bombs to Johnson and Roy Williams.

Winnipeg: No, that isn't a typo. Evidently the Winnipeg Blue Bombers see some potential in Culpepper, as they put him on their protected player list, meaning that they would be the only CFL team that could negotiate with him. As far fetched as that may sound, bear in mind that Winnipeg did sign former Viking Onterrio Smith after the Whizzinator incident, so I guess you never know...

Well, I Guess He Was Excited...

There are a number of things in life that are certainties. The sun will rise tomorrow. The seasons will change. The earth will keep spinning on its axis. You know, those sorts of things. Equally as certain though, is that when a prominent athelete changes teams his former jersey will be worth as much as a Carlos Boozer promise to a blind man: nothin. So a quick look at eBay reveals a fair number of Daunte jerseys for sale, and as of now none of them have so much as a single bid on them. Look a little more closely though. See that sale near the middle? This one? That's right, this poor kid must have rushed right out as soon as the Dolphins signed Daunte and bought all of the jerseys, including the "very rare" navy jersey. I mean, there is something to say about getting a home jersey for your favorite player. And it isn't entirely bad to have a home and an away jersey of your favorite guy, as long as you actually go to away games. But to have three alternate jerseys? Good grief kid, what is wrong with you? I know I don't have $300 plus bucks to throw away on jerseys for one player. And to top it off, this guy still thinks that he can get $175 for the three of them, plus $13 shipping. Sad. Just sad.

Quick Thoughts On The Dolphin's QB Quandry

Now that the national soap opera that was the Trent Green trade has ended...what did it all mean? In an attempt to sort out this deal and its ramifications, here are some ever so lovely bullet points:

- From all indications it sounds like the Dolphins had been offering a 6th that would turn into a 5th, and the Chiefs wanted a 4th rounder for Green. In the end the Dolphins gave up what, barring an injury that prevents Green from playing at least 70% of the offensive snaps, will end up being a 4th rounder. What was the big hang up? Granted, each front office has the right to have their own opinion on a player's worth, but if you look at the recent trades a 4th rounder seems just right. In Oakland the Raiders gave up a 4th to get Josh McCown to come in and be their QB for a season, or less, until JaMarcus Russell is ready. The Dolphins want Green to come in for a season, or two, until John Beck is ready to lead the team. Seems to me that a 4th rounder is a pretty fair price for your starting QB for the next two years combined with the ability to bring along your QB of the future at your own pace.

- Has any QB in recent memory fallen farther or faster than Daunte Culpepper? Just three seasons ago Culpepper was 1b to Peyton Manning's 1a in terms of all of the QBs in the league. And that is by no means hyperbole, look at the stats: 4717 yds, 39 TDs, 69% comp., 110.9 QB Rating. Culpepper was out of this world, and now a knee injury appears to have ruined Culpepper's career. Bear in mind, Culpepper is only 30 years old. Barring a career resurrection however, Culpepper may have just become the QB equivalent of Ricky Williams: a phenomenal, record breaking performer for 5 seasons who went out sadly and uncerimoniously from the game.

- So where is Culpepper going to end up? This is the most interesting aspect of this entire situation to me, as some team has the potential, if Culpepper truly is as healthy as he says he is, to get a Pro Bowl caliber QB. Or, if Culpepper is not trul healthy, some team has the potential to get a gimpy backup. The Dolphins have come out saying that they are going to attempt to trade Culpepper, but lets be honest here: if a healthy QB such as Green or McCown nets a 4th rounder, what can they expect to get for a perinially injured QB with a contract in excess of $5 million? "Future considerations"? A conditional 7th rounder? It is obvious that Culpepper will be released, at which point he is going to have to either come to terms with the fact that he is going to be a backup for the foreseeable future, or he is going to have to retire. It's that simple.