Duane Sampson
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New Raider Culpepper looks to mend career By Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY NAPA, Calif.  Daunte Culpepper is in rehab now, but as the 30-year-old quarterback breezes past the outdoor weight room at the Oakland Raiders' training camp, this is not so much about his surgically repaired left knee. The knee appears fine. Culpepper, moving well enough, does not even wear a brace. Now his mission is to rehabilitate his career. In Culpepper's last full season, 2004, he passed for an NFL-high 4,717 yards and franchise-record 39 touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings. If not for Peyton Manning's record-breaking 49 TDs, Culpepper likely would have been the league's MVP that year. Since then, an avalanche of disaster, turmoil and heartache has smothered Culpepper. The swoon started with three torn knee ligaments in 2005, wiping out Culpepper's final nine games. Traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2006, he was sacked 21 times in the first four games then missed the final 12 contests due to shoulder and knee injuries. The Dolphins cut him in June. He is trying to regroup with a team that has had a revolving door at quarterback in recent years, has a new coach in Lane Kiffin installing a new system, and has yet to sign JaMarcus Russell, the passer drafted No. 1 overall in April. FIND MORE STORIES IN: NFL | Miami Dolphins | Minnesota Vikings | Arizona Cardinals | Daunte Culpepper | Jamarcus Russell | Offensive coordinator | Culpepper | Raider "All I want is an opportunity," says Culpepper, signed a week into camp as talks between the Raiders and Russell stalled. "Then the rest is on me. I feel like I'm still a starter in this league. When that happens, who knows? But I know I have a lot to contribute." Culpepper, with three Pro Bowls on his resume, would not be offended if you called him a visiting quarterback. His arrangement is like a short-term lease, with Russell pegged as the Raiders' future quarterback. After collecting $8 million from the Dolphins during his 16-month tour, Culpepper signed a one-year contract with the Raiders that, according to The Oakland Tribune, could be worth $3.2 million, with $750,000 guaranteed. He's gambling on himself to command another big payday down the road. "I wanted to be able to show myself for one year," said Culpepper, who drew interest from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars  teams that had already committed to starters for this season. "I'm just glad I was able to come to an agreement with the Raiders for what I was looking for. "This situation was good because No. 1, I can help the team now. It's also good because they drafted their quarterback of the future and I think I have a lot to offer any quarterback coming into the league, some type of tutelage. Maybe I can help him. And if given the opportunity to play, I can help myself and at the end of the year, whatever happens, happens." Culpepper is battling Josh McCown and Andrew Walter for the starting job. Although Culpepper, a ninth-year pro, has a distinct edge in experience with 84 career starts, he is in a catch-up mode. "It reminds me of the offense I had in college," said Culpepper, who set an NCAA single-season completion percentage record (73.6%) at Central Florida. "Get the ball out fast. Quick reads. I'm versatile. I can adjust to whatever situation or offense I'm in." Culpepper had an inauspicious start in Saturday night's preseason opener against the Arizona Cardinals. Coming off the bench in the third quarter, he fumbled the exchange on his first snap. On the next series, he fumbled while getting sacked. Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp acknowledges that rust was a factor. "That's a fair assessment," Knapp said. "Not to mention that he's probably on information overload right now. You come into camp a week late. Usually I'm lucky enough to have a quarterback since March like with Andrew, to teach the basics, the formations and the motions. So it's a big learning curve for a guy coming in this late." Culpepper shook off his early mishaps Saturday to direct two fourth-quarter field goal drives. Said Knapp, "He overcame some adversity." Knapp expects the three quarterbacks will share time evenly again in Saturday's exhibition against the San Francisco 49ers. "I'll work to be the starter," Culpepper says. "But there is no timeline on my expectations. I've got to learn this offense. Every day, I feel like I'm getting better." The knee that was such a concern last summer isn't an issue. He says the ligaments are stable and insists he didn't try to rush back too soon last season. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on the same knee last year, but maintains that the procedure was to shave cartilage and was unrelated to the previous injury. "It was a totally different injury," he says. "A lot of people don't understand that. It feels a lot better now." So does his psyche. Culpepper's final weeks with the Dolphins were emotionally draining. New Dolphins coach Cam Cameron opted for Trent Green as his quarterback, and when Culpepper refused to restructure his contract to help facilitate a trade, hardball tactics ensued. The team escorted him off the field in a June minicamp. "In an ideal situation, it would have been better for me to get released earlier," he said. "But the way it happened, it happened. It was frustrating, but I know how this business is sometimes. All I'm doing now is looking forward. I'm in a better situation now."
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