Daunte Culpepper Signs With the Raiders

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After drafting LSU QB JaMarcus Russell with the very first pick back in April, the Oakland Raiders had their quarterback of the future. With training camp now underway, that quarterback is still at his home in Mobile, Alabama negotiating a contract while Andrew Walter and Josh McCown split reps in practice. Enter Daunte Culpepper.

I don’t believe this is going to be a long-term association for Daunte Culpepper and the Oakland Raiders. I don’t think it’s a great place to play. But in a rebuilding year for Oakland, Daunte will also be rebuilding. This one-year contract is more like a one-year audition for the rest of the NFL.

Daunte Culpepper is in Oakland to compete for a starting job this season. But he’s also there to admittedly help prep JaMarcus Russell for his inevitable role of starting QB and team leader. If JaMarcus shows up, that is. My guess is that Daunte will fulfill his one-year contract with Oakland to mixed reviews. He’ll flash the big arm and the things he does well when he’s healthy. There will be some promise that his best days are not behind him. But ultimately this team isn’t very good and that will have a direct effect on how well Daunte’s “audition” goes. The hope here is that he will have played well enough to show people he can still quarterback in this league without damaging himself physically in the process. Then maybe he can get into a better system that will give him a better chance of success in 2008.