Friday, June 08, 2007

Culpepper's Probable Destination; Kennedy Traded

Where will Daunte Culpepper, who will soon be released by Miami, end up in 2007?

If you look at the situation, it's fairly easy to tell where his destination point will be this season.

Culpepper is still trying to recover from a devastating knee injury that sidelined him for most of 2005 and 2006. He'll have to take a dramatic pay cut and most likely accept the fact his role will be a backup one in 2007.

Culpepper needs to reinvent his career and he probably needs a little time behind the scenes to help him return to the form he had in 2003-2004 when he threw 64 touchdowns to just 22 interceptions, while converting 50 percent of his third-down attempts.

He would also like to go to a place where he's familiar with the offense, the coach and have a chance to start in 2008, when he hopes to be 100 percent healthy.

That leaves just two teams in the mix - the Baltimore Ravens and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Culpepper knows Billick's offense thanks to his years in Minnesota. Billick didn't coach Daunte, but Mike Tice ran Billick's offense with the Vikings during Culpepper's tenure.

Also, Steve McNair is 34-years old and despite leading the Ravens to a 13-3 record last season, doesn't have many years left. Baltimore QB coach Rick Neuheisel is an excellent teacher and Culpepper could regain his form and be a starter in 2008.

The Jaguars are another possibility, thanks in part to Tice being an assistant coach in Jacksonville. Byron Leftwich is in the final year of his contract and doesn't have a very good relationship with head coach Jack Del Rio. Culpepper could come in, get healthy behind Leftwich and David Garrard this season and emerge as the go-to-guy for the Jags in 2008.

In the end, look for either the Ravens or Jaguars to be the most enticing spots for Culpepper to land.

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The St. Louis Rams, upset by four lackluster seasons from former first-round pick Jimmy Kennedy, decided enough was enough.

The Rams traded the former Penn State star to the Denver Broncos for what is believed to be a sixth round pick in next years draft.

Kennedy was counted on by St. Louis to be a run-stuffer, but it never panned out that way. St. Louis now has LeRoi Glover, second-year player Claude Wroten and three rookies (Clifton Ryan, Keith Jackson and No. 1 pick Adam Carriker) in its tackle rotation.

This marks the second DT signed this week by the Broncos, who wanted to get bigger on the interior. Sam Adams (6-3, 345 pounds) signed a few days ago. Kennedy is 6-4 and weighs 325 pounds.

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