There was a point when it looked like Daunte Culpepper would be one of the best NFL quarterbacks that would ever play. Once a debilitating knee injury hit him he wasn't the same player. He lost it just as fast as Jake Delhomme and Steve Blass.But I'll give Culpepper credit. He's not trying to hang on. His last game action came with the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the UFL in 2010. His last NFL action was with the Detroit Lions in 2009. At a camp at his alma mater, Central Florida, Culpepper resigned himself to the fact that his career is over.
"As far as me playing, I think I am done,'' said Culpepper, 35. "That part of my book is closed. The next chapter is, I have kids and I will be coaching them.
"I will be part of athletics and a part of sports, hopefully my whole life. It makes me feel good. I love to compete. Now I'll be competing in men's leagues, in basketball and softball and stuff.''
"I am retired, obviously, and I am raising my kids and living in South Florida,'' said Culpepper, a three-time Pro Bowl selection. "That's a full-time job.''
Culpepper's only hope of landing an NFL contract would have been as a reserve role, but at age 35 with no game experience the past two seasons, there was nearly no chance of that happening. Culpepper was a three-time Pro Bowler in the NFL. He passed for 4,717 yards, rushed for 406 yards and totaled 41 touchdowns and 11 interceptions during the 2004 campaign, but a serious knee injury the next season all but ended his career as an NFL starter.
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July 01, 2012
