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Posted by derickson on Feb 16th, 2006
2006
Feb 16

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Daunte Culpepper Trade

Posted by derickson on Feb 16th, 2006
2006
Feb 16

I literally woke up this morning with the words "Culpepper" and "trade" drifting into my ears. My radio alarm clock went off just as ’s host Cathy Wurzer saying something about the shopping around.

Back when the rumors began to emerge that the Vikings were looking to trade , I refused to believe them. How, I reasoned, could you possibly get value for the guy? It turned out that I was wrong that the Vikes wouldn’t trade him but right that we wouldn’t get value. We didn’t. Not. At. All.

So, now with trade rumors swirling about Culpepper, I’m inclined to think the same thing: You can’t possibly get value for him. As I said in my post, Culpepper’s coming off major surgery and a year, when he was healthy, in which he played horribly. Who’s gonna give you much of anything at all for a player who may not ever recover from his injury?

The Star Tribune’s Kevin Seifert legitimized the rumors by at . That story was posted at startribune.com at 9:56 this morning. At 2:33 p.m. today, Seifert saying Culpepper was unaware of any such plans for a trade, saying "Until I hear different from Mr. Wilf or the new ‘triangle of authority’ at the Vikings I plan on playing quarterback for Minnesota."

In Seifert’s initial story, he says the decision to shop Culpepper was "triggered when Culpepper demanded that his 2006 compensation be more than doubled" and later in the article reported that "Wilf angrily turned down Culpepper’s request."

That’s justification enough for the Vikings to shop Culpepper and for Wilf to be angry. Culpepper’s got no leverage to ask for that kind of compensation, especially after Wilf just gave him a raise at the begining of Culpepper’s horrid season last year. And Culpepper’s behavior has all the hallmarks of a player trying to force a trade.

The ProFootballTalk.com site says the Vikings are looking for a second round pick for Culpepper. That seems mighty meagre for a player who, despite his injuries, would’ve been the league MVP in 2004 were it not for .

If it’s true that that’s all the Vikings are asking for Culpepper, then I must conclude that the team is either not confident that the quarterback can recover from his injuries, or that the price tag for waiting for him to recover (and you gotta think the safe bet is 2007, not sometime next year) is too high. He’s due a $6 million bonus March 14, an $8 million salary for 2006, and he’ll probably be paid for sitting on the bench. That’s a completely unproductive $14 million.

Potential trading partners for the Vikings include the , the , the , the , and the .

Seifert says the Ravens could franchise and then trade him for Culpepper. If that happens, the Vikings, once again, will get screwed. Lewis is a smash mouth running back who won’t be well suited to Chidlress’ . An he’s an old 27 years old.

The Dolphins could let play another year and trade to the Vikings for Culpepper. The Dolphins already have and will no doubt be looking to deal the enigmatic Williams. I’d be far happier with that scenario. Despite the guy’s obvious flakiness, it’s clear he’s an explosive running back.

The Raiders? Screw ‘em. They’ve already taken us to the once this decade and that’s enough. Besides, they don’t have anyone on their roster we’d really want, anyway. Except for . I’d do that.

The Jets have got to be crazy if they’re content going into the season having to rely on the fragile , whom they’re trying to get to take a pay cut. So they’re in the market for a quarterback but don’t you think they want one who they know will be able to play this year? They seem unlikely trade partners but let’s play along, anyway.

No one jumps out on the Jets roster as potential tade bait. Defensive End , maybe, but he’s never really lived up to expectations. The only player on the Jets that I’d consider would be Middle Linebacker , a two year pro who, , ran a 4.5 40 and has the skills to play cover in a zone defense. We need that cause is not long for the Vikings roster and I’d hate to have to rely on as our starting Mike. Still, a straight up trade? No way. There’d have to be a draft pick or two in there.

The Rams’ new head coach is, of course, former Viking offensive coordinator and Culpepper’s famously comfortable with the guy, so there’s presumably cozy feelings all around. The Rams actually have some players you could package together for a nice little deal. I’d take an and an –both aging linemen– and Safety for Culpepper. Or one of the linemen, Archuleta and a draft pick. That’d be fair.

I’m just afraid that if the Vikings do trade Culpepper, they won’t get anything for him. A second round pick? No way.

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My IM Status

Posted by derickson on Feb 16th, 2006
2006
Feb 16

I have managed to piss off at least one reader of my blog, perhaps more. I was out last night when someone tried to instant message me from this blog and I was not present to get the IM. He thought I was ignoring him, which was perfectly natural because I didn’t set my away message. He had no way of knowing I wasn’t there to respond.

Things I’ve Learned

Set your instant messaging away message when you’re not at your computer in order to avoid pissing people off. It’s happened before and I should have learned by now.

So, I apologize to anyone I’ve offended by not responding to an IM message. I’ll try to remember to set my away message in the future.

Consider me chastened.

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