Culpepper returns home

Minnesota coach throws 'hater-ade', comparing the new Dolphins quarterback to former Philly receiver Terrell Owens

Compiled from wire services

Prior to getting hurt last year,Ocala native Daunte Culpepper was one of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League.

The National Football League's Miami Dolphins acquired Florida native Dante Culpepper, 29, from the Minnesota Vikings last week for a second-round pick in next month's draft. As a 230-pound high school star in Ocala, Culpepper was Florida's "Mr. Football'' in 1994. The New York baseball Yankees drafted him, but he opted to play football at Central Florida. He had three Pro Bowl seasons with the Vikings, most recently in 2004, before his relationship with the organization soured.

Now he's returning to his native state. Quarterback has been an unsettled position in Miami since Hall of Famer Dan Marino retired following the 1999 season. Culpepper's career quarterback rating happens to be even higher than Marino's, and if he recovers fully from a serious knee surgery, the Dolphins' drought of four consecutive years without a postseason berth may end. He became available after he played poorly last year, tore three ligaments in his right knee, took part in a notorious Minnesota boat party, and quarreled with Vikings management.

Culpepper passed a physical with Dolphins doctors last week before the trade became final. The knee injury forced him to miss the final nine games last year, but Dolphins head coach Nick Saban hopes to have him available for the season opener. Culpepper has agreed to continue his rehabilitation at the team complex beginning March 27, rather than at his home near Orlando. That was a point of contention with the Vikings.

"I think they're going to be a playoff team year-in and year-out,'' said Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green, who drafted Culpepper for the Minnesota Vikings in 1999. "He'll fit in well in Miami.'' "He wanted to come back to Florida,'' Saban said. "That's where he's from. He has tremendous pride in that and pride in the high school football he played and his college career. It was kind of his dream to come back to this state and play and maybe develop a legacy here.''

Meanwhile, Vikings coach Brad Childress says he saw a little of Terrell Owens in Culpepper. That was enough for him to trade a player who was one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks for just a draft pick. Childress said he never got a good vibe from Culpepper, the unquestioned leader of the Vikings until last season's struggles on and off the field. "Everything became about being a $10 million-a-year quarterback,'' Childress said. While still the offensive coordinator at Philadelphia, Childress clashed with Owens during training camp, the precursor to the mercurial receiver's highprofile exile from the Eagles.

"It just became a deal where I didn't feel like it was the team, I felt like it was 'me,''' Childress said about Culpepper. "I went through a big 'me' situation last year with a guy who was all about 'me.'" Culpepper refused to rehab his severely injured right knee in Minnesota, preferring to remain at home in Florida. He also asked for a raise and was allegedly hesitant to meet with Childress.