News Item: Daunte Culpepper retires from NFL
Daunte had an excellent run for several years as the Vikings' starting quarterback, but it all came to an extremely abrupt end with his weak start in '05, leading up to an injury in which he tore three knee ligaments. He was never the same after that, and wound up his career with the Dolphins and then the Raiders.
Culpepper may in fact be the best Vikes QB of my lifetime (none of the '80s or '90s guys, other than Gannon, stayed for more than a year or two), and I honestly feel horrible about the way his career turned out. After all, in 2004- just four years ago- he threw for 4,717 yards and 39 touchdowns, in one of the best seasons by the quarterback in league history.
And yes, with Culpepper gone Donovan McNabb is now the only one of the five first-round quarterbacks from the '99 draft remaining in the league.
A somewhat sad moment in my opinion. I can't feel too bad for him since he'll be set up for life, but he was a main reason that the Vikings were considered contenders in the early 2000s
Posted by: Jason at September 5, 2008 12:12 AM