Chicago? Detroit?
Dolphins tell Culpepper they're 'going in different direction'Associated Press
Updated: June 6, 2007, 12:26 PM ET
DAVIE, Fla. -- Daunte Culpepper apparently won't be getting a chance to compete with Trent Green for the starting quarterback job in Miami.
One day after agreeing to send a fifth-round draft pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for Green, the Dolphins told Culpepper on Wednesday they want to trade him -- a move he is resisting.
Culpepper said he was told at a morning meeting with general manager Randy Mueller and coach Cam Cameron that the Dolphins "are going in a different direction at the QB position."
"They would like to trade me in order to 'get something for me,"' Culpepper, who serves as his own agent, wrote in an e-mail. "However, it is my position that I have already been down that road and I am not interested in being traded."
Green was in South Florida on Wednesday to undergo a physical -- the last hurdle to completing the deal -- said his agent, Jim Steiner. If he passes it, the long-awaited deal between the Dolphins and Chiefs will be completed, a person within the NFL with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday night. The person requested not to be identified because the deal is not official.
Neither team confirmed the trade Tuesday. Green's agent, Jim Steiner, did not return messages seeking comment.
If the move happens, the 36-year-old Green would likely be with the Dolphins when they open a three-day minicamp on Friday.
Culpepper -- who is due to make $5.5 million this season -- played in only four games a year ago because of knee problems and is still trying to recover from major surgery in 2005. He also intended to take part in this weekend's minicamp, after receiving clearance from orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews to resume football activity earlier this week.
"They have told me throughout the offseason that I am under contract to the Dolphins," Culpepper wrote. "Therefore, it will be up to them to either keep me under contract or release me. In the meantime I will continue to work out at the facility with the team and prepare myself for training camp, wherever it may be."
In 5½ seasons as Kansas City's starter, Green threw for 21,459 yards -- an average of 244 per game -- and 118 touchdowns while completing 62 percent of his passes. He missed eight games last season because of a concussion suffered in the season opener, and didn't believe he'd have a chance to fairly compete with Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard for the starting job in KC in 2007.
So he wanted a trade and worked out a new contract several weeks ago with the Dolphins, who traded for Culpepper before the 2006 season.
"It's unfortunate the way things turned out for Daunte," running back Ronnie Brown told Sirius NFL Radio on Tuesday night.
Miami also drafted a quarterback this year. Brigham Young's John Beck was chosen in the second round after passing on a chance to take Notre Dame's Brady Quinn with the ninth overall pick -- which the Dolphins used on receiver-returner Ted Ginn Jr. of Ohio State.
Culpepper's health almost certainly was a major factor why Miami spent weeks trying to coax Kansas City into trading Green, who would have made $7.2 million this season with the Chiefs. The Dolphins offered the Chiefs a sixth-round pick long before April's draft, while Kansas City reportedly insisted on a fourth-round selection.
"My position on Trent is that the Dolphins should get the best players that they can and let them compete for the starting job," Culpepper said Tuesday after learning of the reported trade.
Green and Cameron have a long relationship. Both are former Indiana quarterbacks, and Cameron was Washington Redskins quarterbacks coach when Green was a third-stringer there in 1995 and 1996.
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