What can you say to a player like Daunte Culpepper?

I used to love the guy, part of me still does. From the seventh grade on a was a die-hard Minnesota Vikings fan living in Washington D.C. larger due to Culpepper exploits. Assuming the reigns of a franchise at the peak of its talent and capablity in 2000, Daunte led an out-of-this-world offense, rivaled only by the Rams 00s greatest show on turf, to the NFC championship game. Though buttressed by the phenomenal Randy Moss, Cris Carter, forever underrated running back Robert Smith, and offensive line anchor Center Matt Birk, Culpepper put up numbers that came close to Dan Marino's record-setting numbers for a first-year QB: a 98.00 passer rating, 33 touchdowns only 16 interceptions while completing 67% of his passes. In 2002, Culpepper's rating was 96 as he passed for 3,400 yards. In 2004, the QB passed for 4717 yards, 39 tds, and a passer rating of 110 -- the 4th highest in league history. If not for Payton Manning's record-setting season in 2004, Culpepper would have easily been the league MVP that year. Culpepper was the face of the franchise, particularly after the retirement of Carter and Smith and the departure of Moss via trade to Oakland. With pride, I sported my Purple and Gold #11 jersey around the halls of my high school. In fact, during one thanksgiving break when the Vikings faced-off against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving day, I actually slept and showered with the jersey on.

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

While other quaterbacks have been more successful than Culpepper (see Tom Brady and Donovan McNabb) and even put up better numbers (see Manning, Michael Vick, and McNabb again), the Quarterback's future seemed set and after consecutive trips to the pro bowl, his place amongst the elite in the NFL seemed similarly concrete. Now at the might-as-well-retire, yesterday's-news, over-the-hill, own-franchise-is-drafting-to-replace-you, shit-out-of-luck age of 30, Culpepper's future could easily be hued as pitch black. In a 2005 regular season game against the Carolina Panthers, Culpepper's knee exploded and 19 months, two surgeries, two teams, and a variety of rehabs, Culpepper is only just been cleared to practice again.

Blame it on the injury or the situation.

After BRAD JOHNSON, the then 36 year-old former Viking stepped in to replace Culpepper and lead the Vikes to an improbable play-offs birth with an 8-8 record, Culpepper was shipped to Miami. Inexplicably, new coach Brad Childress would stick with Johnson (then pushing 38) in 2006 and may as well have stamped void on the entire 2006 season. Yet I digress. Culpepper was heralded as Miami's solution to long standing line of sub-par qbs to follow after the retirement of Marino. He even stared in the summer 2006 Madden commercials, completing passes to Cris Chambers and "getting his role on" in videogaming glory. The roll, however, didn't make it to the field. Culpepper's knee kept on nagging and after four games he sat for the rest of the season. Though he was signed through 2013, Culpepper would not take another live-action snap for the Dolphins.

Blame the agent.

To me it does not make sense for athletes to be their own agents. I understand the worry. Young players, especially those like Culpepper from small towns, don't want to fall to the corruption of money-shark agents ala Bob Sugar and so they elect to rep. themselves. I recently discovered Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards has assumed the role of self-agent. It is dumb. As a professional athlete your daily routine, your monthly, yearly, careerly routine is dedicated to preformance. Off-season work-outs, meetings, and training sessions, mini-camps, summer camps, spring training, in-season games, road trips, morning meetings, all one has time to focus on is the result. Win games and others will do everything else. Yet Culpepper, Arenas and others have elected to take the challenging route of self-management. Adding significantly to their own duties and possibly distracting them from what really earns them the money: their success. A note to athletes considering this idea: DON'T DO IT. There is nothing noble about it, about repping yourself. You are a paid professional there to preform, they are their to get you your money. It works, has worked, let it happen. While pundits might say, "look at the contract Daunte got himself" it is about to be terminated and where is Daunte then? With training camp less then two months away, Culpepper now has to contact teams himself, apply to the NFLPA himself for help, and what else? Oh yeah still find time to work out and show teams he's still worth their time. Having an agent would allow him to focus solely on football in this trying process.
In 2005, after his big-money deal to the Dolphins went through, it may have seemed like a great example of a player representing himself and doing well. Well it is only when things go bad that self-agenting becomes a mistake. When an athlete gets injured or seems ineffective, everyone is quick to bail on him and usually the agent is the last to go. The agent will work for the athlete until there isn't anything to work for. It may be because of money, but that is the way things go. With Culpepper, he is in dire straights and he has no agent in his corner wheeling and dealing for him. It could be possible that Daunte can still navigate the field in the superd way he did only two years ago, but without an agent navigating the business side, he is at a distinct disadvantage and his window is closing very, very fast.