PA Season Ticket Holder
04-07-2003, 09:21 PM
A league source tells us that the Minnesota Vikings have decided to take a wait-and-see approach in their contract discussions with quarterback Daunte Culpepper.
According to the source, the team likely will wait until the middle of the 2003 season before working out a long-term deal with the 11th overall pick in the 1999 draft, since the jury is still out on the question of whether Culpepper will be a long-term force in the NFL.
Culpepper busted onto the scene in 2000 amid heavy criticism of then-coach Denny Green regarding his decision to give the keys to the team's supercharged offense to a kid who barely had a learner's permit.
Since then, however, Culpepper has regressed, showing a propensity both to make bad decisions under fire and to lose the ball while trying desperately to make good things happen.
As a result, Culpepper's 98.0 passer rating in 2000 sank to a 75.3 in 2002 -- and this trend isn't promising as he prepares for his fourth season as a starter.
Contract discussions to date have yielded some progress, but talks apparently have sputtered of late. The Vikes simply aren't in a position to pay Culpepper like Plummer at a time when there's no guarantee that Daunte will pull his performance out of the toilet.
The real question here is whether a strong performance by Culpepper to start the 2003 season will be enough to bring both sides together. Though it could make the Vikes more willing to pay 'Pepper what he wants now, his expectations could go up if he shows that he's ready to take it to the next level.
Still, from Minnesota's perspective, there's a strong incentive to get the deal done in 2003, since the Vikings have the cap room now to get the thing done.
http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm
According to the source, the team likely will wait until the middle of the 2003 season before working out a long-term deal with the 11th overall pick in the 1999 draft, since the jury is still out on the question of whether Culpepper will be a long-term force in the NFL.
Culpepper busted onto the scene in 2000 amid heavy criticism of then-coach Denny Green regarding his decision to give the keys to the team's supercharged offense to a kid who barely had a learner's permit.
Since then, however, Culpepper has regressed, showing a propensity both to make bad decisions under fire and to lose the ball while trying desperately to make good things happen.
As a result, Culpepper's 98.0 passer rating in 2000 sank to a 75.3 in 2002 -- and this trend isn't promising as he prepares for his fourth season as a starter.
Contract discussions to date have yielded some progress, but talks apparently have sputtered of late. The Vikes simply aren't in a position to pay Culpepper like Plummer at a time when there's no guarantee that Daunte will pull his performance out of the toilet.
The real question here is whether a strong performance by Culpepper to start the 2003 season will be enough to bring both sides together. Though it could make the Vikes more willing to pay 'Pepper what he wants now, his expectations could go up if he shows that he's ready to take it to the next level.
Still, from Minnesota's perspective, there's a strong incentive to get the deal done in 2003, since the Vikings have the cap room now to get the thing done.
http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm