HOT OFF THE PRESS -- Latest C.Pep Report

[Down to Earth]

This is coming from Fanball:

"03/09 19:46 HOT NEWSBREAKER!

VIKINGS

Deal to trade Culpepper in place

THE NEWS

It looks like Daunte Culpepper is getting his wish. Last season the Vikings traded away their franchise receiver; this season they're shipping away their franchise quarterback. Team officials confirmed to NFL.com on Thursday that they have a deal in place to trade their disgruntled signal caller. The trade is expected to go through on Friday, just before the start of free agency, but Culpepper's destination is still unknown.

Our View

It is not every day you see a trade confirmed without anyone knowing which team the player is going to. Any place Culpepper ends up obviously plans to use him as their starting quarterback once he fully recovers from the serious knee injury he suffered last season. Once Daunte's destination is known, we'll pass it along and break down all the fantasy implications of the first major trade of the offseason. Stay tuned."

Guess we may have to wait a bit to see if this is just a HOT,HOT rumor or if it is true indeed. One article I read tonight on ESPN mentioned Oakland as a possible suitor. Don't know if that is the case or not. Other teams mentioned as suitors in Fanball discussion include Miami and the Jets. Could J. Abraham be making his way to MN? Evidently Baltimore is not in the running.

[JIvers]

ESPN and CNNSI.com both name Oakland as the most likely team in the mix for a Culpepper trade. No use speculating too much, as we will know within eighteen hours if there is any substance to this rumor.

One other interesting thing to come out of this week's DC-related news is the report on cnnsi.com that Childress tried to build a relationship with Culpepper, but DC wanted no part of him or the West Coast offense. This obviously could be the Vikings trying to shift blame on to Culpepper for the break between the two parties. However, when this report is factored in with Culpepper's decision to rehab in Florida rather than Minnesota, his earlier demand for an increased bonus, and the angry e-mail, I have to wonder if Culpepper has not in fact been the one who wanted out of Minnesota from the beginning of the trade rumors. The fallout from the Loveboat scandal may have set this whole thing off, along with the knee injury and Culpepper's horrible play early this season. Just speculation on my part, but there is some smoke there.

[kentuck_ike]

check out DC's HSOforum, it says version 2 coming soon. I've got to think that means something.

[cybermuskie]

Peps site is in this story! Sorry, was out of town for a few days:

Pepp Gone

Viking Update Staff - Scout.com

March 10, 2006 at 3:48am ET

Daunte Culpepper's personal HSOforum has received many hits in the last few days. In the coming weeks, his bandwidth will grow. His exodus from the Vikings isn't yet official, but it's unofficially official.

For the last several hours of Thursday evening, rumors were running rampant that Daunte Culpepper has been traded. In efforts to confirm or deny, VU got a hit - and was told to get the answer at the source.

As with any good info, confirmation is needed. Daunte himself did that for us. At his personal HSOforum, daunteculpepper.com, if you hit it, you will get the dish. All you'll see is "Version 2 - Coming Soon."

That says enough. All those No. 84 jerseys your friends and family aren't wearing, add No. 11 to the pile. It shouldn't have been this way. But it is.

As soon as we have specifics, we'll pass it along. But, Version 2 - as it is going to be called - better step up. Pepp got his wish. The Vikings have a trade partner. What he does with it from here is his legacy - for better or worse.

[JIvers]

As of 6:20 PM Central Time, ESPN is reporting that the Raiders cut Kerry Collins, and that the Dolphins are close to a deal for Drew Brees. This means several things: the Vikings will not be signing Brees, the Dolphins are not in the last-minute dash for Culpepper, and the Raiders, having dumped Collins, probably are.

[knoppers]

unless its a multi-team trade thing. I also heard that collins was cut, which is almost a positve that pecker is going away. it would be nice to get brees, but who knows. if we could get a top draft, brad johnson would be good this coming year.

with all the extra cash the vikes could spend, they could get a top RB, like the edge.

[cybermuskie]

This just in from Fanball:

03/10 19:02 Raiders: Conflicting reports on Culpepper

THE NEWS

Is Daunte Culpepper going to Oakland? The Raiders are not interested in Culpepper and never even made a trade offer to the Vikings for him, according to Adam Schefter of the NFL Network. This directly conflicts with a report from ESPN's John Clayton, who said the Raiders have emerged at the front runner.

Our View

Schefter also reported that the Saints are not interested in Culpepper. Everyone seems to think a trade will be pulled off very soon, so check back with us all weekend for the latest on this developing situation.

[JIvers]

Just adding a little more to discussion of the Culpepper-Childress issue...CNNSI claims that Culpepper holds a grudge against Childress going back to 1999, when Philadelphia drafted Donovan McNabb over DC. According to this story, Culpepper believes Ray Childress played a major role in that decision.

[cybermuskie]

So far No Trade...a bluff? Stay tuned

[james_walleye]

The vikes arent budging right now on wanted a 2nd round pick. I heard Oakland has back away.

[cybermuskie]

Here's what ESPN says:

The Vikings tried to put a Friday night deadline on a trade of Daunte Culpepper, but no deal has been finalized.

Three teams supposedly were in the final bidding -- the Raiders, Dolphins and Titans. But the Raiders dropped out when they heard the price was going to be a second-round choice.

The Vikings were telling teams they could get a second-round choice for Culpepper, who asked to be traded early this week.

Also:

Trade Path Cleared?

by Viking Update Staff of VikingUpdate.com, March 11, 2006 at 12:42pm ET

The Raiders officially released Kerry Collins Friday after rescinding his release earlier in the week. That paves the way for what many believe is the finalization of a trade for Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper. It is believed that the Raiders want to make a trade with a conditional pick attached for 2007 -- one that needs to be approved by the league before becoming final.

[cybermuskie]

I found this tonight from ESPN's John Clatyon. There was more talk about Brees before it,but I clipped what talked about us.

Nick Saban may have to hold off until Monday to make a decision on this front. Here's the situation: He can sign Brees or he can trade for Daunte Culpepper. The Vikings aren't as adamant about asking for a second-round choice that could upgrade to a No. 1, but they want a second-round draft pick. They won't let Culpepper have a doctor's visit with the Dolphins, only allowing him to talk on the phone with Miami. The Dolphins are holding up the bulk of their aggressive offseason work until they resolve their quarterback situation. In the next 24 hours, their quarterback will be either Culpepper or Brees.

Saban has already gone overtime on this one. The Dolphins will either be in or out of the bidding by Monday.

Meanwhile, the Raiders have resumed talks with the Vikings but made it clear they aren't going to get into a bidding war with another team for Culpepper. If the Vikings are willing to talk to Oakland on their terms, then they will listen.

[cybermuskie]

By Tim Yotter Scout.com

Date: Mar 14, 2006

Beyond the Drew Brees situation, there may be a couple other factors holding up the trading of Daunte Culpepper.

The Vikings and Daunte Culpepper can agree on one thing: Both sides seem to be looking for a trade that would put Culpepper in another uniform in 2006. However, there are a couple of factors determining how soon a trade might come and where the disgruntled quarterback may land.

The Miami Dolphins have been showing the most interest in trading for Culpepper, but they are also in hot pursuit of free agent QB Drew Brees. The Dolphins and New Orleans Saints are the top two candidates to land Brees, who has reportedly said he’d favor Miami. However, New Orleans is thought to be willing to offer more money and more guarantees.

And now there is a new rub in the Culpepper saga.

The Sun-Sentinel is reporting that the Dolphins are in pursuit of trading for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Schaub, who performed well last year in fill-in stints for starter Michael Vick. Schaub is in the last year of his rookie contract and would be a more economical—although less proven—solution for the Dolphins than Culpepper or Brees.

Falcons general manager Rich McKay told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it would take a high draft pick for the Falcons to trade Schaub.

That bears this question: If the Vikings trade Culpepper, would Schaub be a good fit in Minnesota, where he could at least compete with Brad Johnson for the starting role and possibly be the long-term solution at the position? Of course, that would likely depend on any team being able to extend Schaub’s contract before trading for him.

The Culpepper trade situation seems to be full of domino effects. If they don’t trade Culpepper to Miami, his value would appear to go down because the Dolphins have shown the most interest in him. Oakland also reportedly renewed its interest in him, and Tennessee would have an interest in him, although Culpepper hurt those negotiations when he reportedly said he is not interested in joining the Titans, at least for now.

It’s also possible New Orleans could enter the process if the Saints don’t land Brees.

The Vikings now have until March 24 before they are due to pay Culpepper a $6 million roster bonus.

[cybermuskie]

C-PEPP is Gone! Traded to Dolphins for 2nd rd pick! ESPN TV just let this out! I'll post more when I know it!

[cybermuskie]

By John Clayton

ESPN.com

The Dolphins decided to stop waiting for Chargers quarterback Drew Brees to lower his contract demands and opted to give the Vikings a second-round choice to acquire quarterback Daunte Culpepper.

Culpepper had been talking to the Dolphins for the past week, expressing his desire to be with the Dolphins along with showing a willingness to rework his contract to fit into the Dolphins salary cap. Contract talks between the Dolphins and Brees have been stalled because the Saints had more money and more guarantees on the table from the Saints.

Vikings coach Brad Childress said recently Culpepper is on schedule in his rehab from surgery in which he tore three knee ligaments after having a trainer fly to Florida to meet with Culpepper. The recovery time from such major surgery is 12 months, but Culpepper has told the Dolphins that he's ahead of schedule and may be able to play before September.

Finding a quarterback this offseason was Nick Saban's main objective. Though he liked Brees, he was unwilling to give him $10 million in guarantees after he is coming off shoulder surgery.

Culpepper's trade clears the stage for the Saints to get Brees

[Down to Earth]

Not that it will affect the Vikes at all, but if it plays out as Clayton was saying this morning on ESPN the top of the draft could get shaken up a bit. Now that the Saints have Brees they may not go with Linehart with the #2 pick, but instead Mario Williams.

Just a quick thought here, if the Vikes do get Hutch, with an additional second rounder now maybe they could trade up and get Cutler out of Vanderbilt in the draft. I still kinda doubt they could get in the top 4 to get Young or Linehart.

[cybermuskie]

Looks like Brees quickly signed with the Saints before they could change there offer!