POSTED 4:11 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 4:43 p.m. EDT, July 17, 2007
FINS CUT CULPEPPER
The Miami Dolphins have announced that the team has terminated the contract of quarterback Daunte Culpepper.
The news was disclosed in a one-sentence release from the team.
Culpepper's grievance against the team was scheduled to be heard on July 18. We assume that the grievance will not proceed, given that the goal was to force the franchise to allow him to participate in team drills during training camp, which opens later this month.
The move ends Culpepper's rocky tenure with the Fins after only one season. Acquired in a trade for a second-round pick, Culpepper was ineffective in four starts, and ultimately was benched. He required further surgery on a knee that was shredded in November 2005, and did not return.
His fate in South Florida was sealed after the team landed Trent Green. But instead of merely cutting Culpepper loose, the Dolphins hoped to finagle a draft pick for his services. At a mandatory minicamp last month, the team refused to allow Culpepper to participate in team drills, since a serious injury would have put the team on the hook for his entire $5.5 million salary. The move prompted Culpepper's grievance.
We previously heard that the Dolphins were suspicious that Culpepper's "cut me don't trade me" stance was the result of tampering by one of the teams that could be interested in acquiring his services.
Some league insiders believe that Culpepper is destined to land in Jacksonville, where he'd have a good shot at becoming the starter in 2008. We've heard that he's interested in joining the Packers, too.
With Rams quarterback Marc Bulger recently hinting about a possible holdout, St. Louis coach Scott Linehan might be toying with the possibility of bringing Culpepper in with a one-year deal aimed at protecting the franchise against the worst-case scenario with Bulger, whose financial expectations surely have increased in the wake of the Dwight Freeney deal.
