Toby Stumbo
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Culpepper willing to sign as backup quarterback Daunte Culpepper As he takes a patient approach to finding a new team, Daunte Culpepper promises he no longer is the weak-kneed quarterback who was so easy to sack last season. "The team that gets me and sees me move will be very happy with where I am physically," Culpepper wrote in a lengthy e-mail to USA TODAY. "When I get the chance to finally practice and play, those questions will be answered." Culpepper, 30, was released by the Miami Dolphins on July 17. He became expendable after the team acquired Trent Green in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. Last season, Culpepper was benched after enduring 21 sacks in four games as Miami got off to a 1-3 start. Culpepper never appeared fully recovered from major surgery in 2005 for three torn ligaments in his right knee. That injury had cost him the final nine games of the 2005 season. Then during last season's cameo, he suffered another knee injury. "My knee is doing great. It is much stronger, and there is no pain," Culpepper says. "Last year there was still swelling, and it was much weaker." He says his knee is fully recovered, and "I have moved from the rehab mode in May to a full workout regimen." Jacksonville was considered one of the possible destinations for Culpepper, a three-time Pro Bowler. But Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said on his radio show this week he didn't think that would happen. Del Rio said, "It just doesn't seem like it's going to fit for us and for him," but added, "I wouldn't totally rule it out." Culpepper, who serves as his own agent, says he is talking to some teams but is "choosing to keep things quiet from my end." He met with Tampa Bay last week. "I am approaching this whole process systematically," Culpepper says, adding he's more concerned about prospective teams' offensive schemes than with location or a team's 2006 won-loss record. "If it is the right system, then I am convinced I can help the team win and get to the playoffs," Culpepper says. Culpepper is willing to work his way back onto the field as a backup quarterback if there's a chance to regain a starting role. "If my role is to be a backup, that that will be fine for the short term," Culpepper says. "I do not see myself as a backup quarterback, and I expect that any coach I play for will expect the cream to rise to the top." Culpepper adds, "When my opportunity comes I will be back to being a starter in the NFL for a long time." That was the Dolphins' hope when they acquired Culpepper in a trade for a 2006 second-round draft choice during Nick Saban's two-year tenure as head coach. Miami, on the advice of medical personnel, went after Culpepper instead of free agent Drew Brees. Brees, who was coming off shoulder surgery, signed with New Orleans and led the NFL in passing yards. Culpepper says he doesn't regret the lost season in Miami. If nothing else, it allowed him to spend a year near his adoptive mother, Emma Culpepper, who died in May at 92, in Ocala, Fla. "I am not a guy that regrets a good decision I made that turned out differently than I had expected," Culpepper says. Culpepper was released the day before an arbitrator was to hear his contract grievance against Miami. New Dolphins coach Cam Cameron had held Culpepper out of offseason workouts, and Culpepper responded by saying he would block any trade Miami attempted. By Tom Weir, USA TODAY (Copyright 2007 by USA Today. All Rights Reserved.)
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