What?! Daunte Culpepper Retires From the NFL?
Daunte Culpepper has retired from the NFL.
Shocked but not surprised. How the hell can a 31 year old top flight qb suddenly say forget it and hang ‘em up after an illustrious 9 year career?
Why wasn’t he given a fair shake? His knee? Check. His arm? Check.
How is this guy running free when cats like Chad Pennington and Joey Harrington are still employed?
Oh, could it possibly be Daunte doesn’t have an agent?
Possibly, but this has to be something deeper than that. Wasn’t it 2004 when he had one of the greatest seasons in NFL history when he threw for 39 tds and 4,717 yards?
So…yeah his knee explodes in 2005 and a mere three years later he’s out of the league?
Wow.
I’m actually sad. He’s my middle son’s favorite player so he’s not far from my mind. When he was running over linebackers at Central Florida, I couldn’t wait till he was drafted. He was drafted by Minnesota with the 11th pick overall in 1999–a year after Randall Cunningham led the Vikes to a 15-1 regular season. He sat behind Randall and eventually became the starter in 2000 and subsequently helped the Vikings get to the NFC Championship game. He and Randy Moss became a potent combination until it all fell apart in ‘05.
Here’s a statement by Daunte on his retirement:
“When free agency began this year, I had a new sense of excitement about continuing to rebuild my career in the same way that I had rebuilt my knee after my catastrophic injury in 2005. Unfortunately, what I found out was that the league did not share any of the optimism about me as an unrestricted free agent that I expected. In fact, there was an overwhelming sense that there was no room for me among this year’s group of quarterbacks; whether in a starting, competing or a back-up role. No matter what I did or said, there seemed to be a unified message from teams that I was not welcome to compete for one of the many jobs that were available at the quarterback position. It seems that the stance I took in both Minnesota and Miami regarding my rights as a person and player has followed me into free agency.
After taking a long look at my career and my personal convictions, I have decided to begin early retirement from the NFL effective immediately. Since the beginning of training camp I was told that my opportunity would come when a quarterback gets hurt. I cannot remember the last time so many QB’s have been injured during the preseason. I have been strongly encouraged from family, friends and league personnel to continue to be patient and wait for an inevitable injury to one of the starting quarterbacks in the league. I would rather shut the door to such “opportunity” than continue to wait for one of my fellow quarterbacks to suffer a serious injury. Since I was not given a fair chance to come in and compete for a job, I would rather move on and win in other arenas of life.
The decision I made in 2006 to represent myself rather than hire an agent has been an invaluable experience. I now understand why so many people within 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. Regardless of this shift, player’s rights are still supposed to be a part of this league. Since I will not be given the opportunity to honor the memory of Gene Upshaw by wearing a patch on my uniform this year, I will instead spend some of my energy applying what he taught me about standing up for what is right and not sitting down for what is clearly wrong.
I want to thank my family and my fans for their unwavering belief in me as a person and a player. I embraced both the peaks and the valleys of the game and my career. I am a better person today as a direct result of the experience of playing in the NFL. I can now 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.”
Thankfully,
Daunte Culpepper
Take that call when it comes mid season Daunte because it will come. You threw one of the best deep balls I’ve ever seen. You ain’t done yet bruh.
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September 4th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
The Ravens and the Bears should have BEEN made that call
September 4th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
If Daunte had an agent he would be working now. That idiot went to teams that all had established QBs and tried to workout for them instead of going to teams in need or teams where he would be likely to start because the talent level was soo low.
He should have tried the Bears, Cardinals, San Francisco, Lions, Falcons, or Minnesota
September 4th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
This is an absolutely fabulous letter. I wish him all the success in the world. More to the point - the owners can eat a dick up. Any one who thinks that every team is trying to win is just delusional. The Lions, for example, have been so bad that if they were not compelled by circumstance to take Barry Sanders, they’d have had an unfettered run of abysmal performance that would shame a Skid Row pimp with VD.
I would love to see Culpepper collaborate with Ray Lewis’ new group AND with folks with Kellen Winslow to begin this inevitable transformation of Black labor. When the Zanj revolted for 15 years in Southern Iraq and sounded the death knell to the Abassid Empire, they swung big black arms with the strict intent of drawing blood.
Culpepper’s future should be no different. He’s dynamic and he was among the best. His best season was statistically as good as anyone who has ever played this game…and don’t forget how many games Moss missed that year. Surely he would have eclipsed all that Brady accomplished with a healthy Moss at his disposal.
The media spin on this will be ugly — and I fully intend to ignore that predictable bullshit. DC has truly represented here. Good for him.
September 4th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
“Any one who thinks that every team is trying to win is just delusional.”
Temple I’ve been saying this for years
Teams make a lot of money whether they’re good or bad so….
It’s unfortunate Dante has retired, but I’m loving the letter!
September 5th, 2008 at 4:06 am
[...] was pretty much shunned by the entire league and passed over for lesser quarterbacks this year, forcing him to retire from the NFL today. Sometimes in the game of football its NOT all about winning, if it were… Chad [...]