Fantasy Football News Update - Green and Culpepper

The most fanatical form of sports betting is about to start again. That's right, it's almost time for the 2007 fantasy football season.

For all those fantasy owners out there, here's some news from the NFL world.

TRENT GREEN IS A DOLPHIN

In the latest NFL news, Trent Green was traded to the Dolphins for a 5th rounder, which makes Daunte Culpepper expendable. Now Culpepper is asking to be released by Miami.

Initially, Daunte wanted the chance to compete alongside Trent Green for the starting job. He said all the right things for a couple of days. But when Cam Cameron and Randy Mueller told Culpepper he would not be with the Dolphins in '07, Daunte asked for his immediate release. He claims that with his $5.5 million contract for next year, no team is going to trade for him.

To the credit of the Dolphins management, they say they are not going to hold Culpepper hostage--a back-handed shot at the Kansas City Chiefs. They are on record saying they will try to shop him to teams, then release him if there is no interest.

According to reports, Green and Culpepper talked for a few minutes during this week's minicamp. Little was said about the quarterback situation. Green claims the two talked about rehab from knee injuries, something Green has prior experience with. But Trent Green certainly must have empathy for Daunte Culpepper's situation, after his own recent troubles with NFL management.

CARL PETERSON IS A BASTARD

The much-anticipated Trent Green trade came down last week, after two months of speculation by NFL insiders. The Green Saga was the story of the NFL post-draft offseason, with Chiefs and Dolphins fans coming down on either side of the debate.

Chiefs GM Carl Peterson wanted a 4th rounder for Green, a more reasonable demand after originally setting the price for the 37-year old at a 2nd rounder. The Dolphins were offering a 6th rounder, which Peterson considered insulting. After two months of wrangling, Miami eventually decided to negotiate. They eventually offered a 5th which could become a 4th conditionally. The Chiefs took the bargain.

WHERE DOES DAUNTE GO?

It looks to me like Daunte expects to be a starting quarterback, but the truth of the matter is that most teams already have a starter pencilled in this time of year. If a team doesn't, it's already in a lot of trouble.

But there are a couple of teams which continue to come up in speculation.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Byron Leftwich is in the last year of his contract. He has been solid enough as a starter, but prone to yearly injuries. And when Leftwich inevitably went out the last two seasons, backup David Gerrard has not always been up to the task.

This is a situation where Culpepper could come in as the backup for a year, with the opportunity to be the starter on a playoff contender in just one season. With Leftwich's injury history, Culpepper could be on the field a significant stretch of time this year.

You must remember that Culpepper is a Florida native. One of the reasons the Dolphins were such a natural fit was Daunte's ties to south Florida. So given his choice, Daunte might want to stay in the Sunshine State. Tampa just signed Jeff Garcia, so it looks like Jacksonville is the next closest option to home.

Also keep in mind that ex-Vikings Head Coach Mike Tice is an assistant in Jacksonville these days. He might lobby on behalf of a Culpepper signing.

On the down side, the Jags are trying to convince Leftwich they want him for the years ahead. If that's the case, the Jags might not want to damage the relationship with Byron by bringing in a big name backup. I would say the signing of Culpepper is a sign the Jacksonville front office isn't as sold on Leftwich as they let on.

BALTIMORE RAVENS

Another team speculated about is the Baltimore Ravens. They brought in Steve McNair to lead them to a SuperBowl last year, and McNair led them to a 13-3 record and a hard-fought loss to the eventual champion Indianapolis Colts. The only problem is, there isn't a whole lot of air left in Air McNair. He's one of the toughest players in the league, but his body has taken a lot of punishment over the years. McNair won't be the answer for much longer.

Since Kyle Boller never was the answer, bringing in a younger talent like Culpepper might appeal to the Ravens. It's not that Culpepper is young anymore, but you would think he has more tread on the tire than McNair.

Culpepper could serve under McNair this year, healing his knee. The two might compete for the job next year, or Culpepper could inherit the job at that point. The Ravens are a team where Culpepper could flourish, since they use a defense first strategy and only need one or two big plays a game from their offense.

THE FANTASY IMPACT

Ultimately, I imagine Culpepper will be a late round selection in most fantasy drafts. If he goes to a team with an often-injured starter or an otherwise powerful offense, you might consider drafting him in the late-late rounds of you draft. He is only three seasons removed from one of the top 3 fantasy seasons ever for a quarterback.

The sad thing, once I started looking around the league, I don't see that many teams who would sign Culpepper as a starter this year. So I think this is a situation where Culpepper does like Garcia last year; sign a one-year contract and hope you get to show your talents at some point.

THEY'RE BETTER THAN KENNISON AND PARKER

As for Trent Green, he will have targets in Chris Chambers, Marty Booker and Ted Ginn Jr. That's a much better receiving corps than he's had in all those years in Kansas City, where he had 4 4,000 yard seasons. He won't have the safety blanket that is Tony Gonzales, and remember the Dolphins released talented yet troubled tight end Randy McMichael.

I imagine Green will be in the 10-12 range in quarterbacks, which means he'll be one of the last starters taken or the first backups taken in most drafts. He is 37 and had a vicious concussion last year. There's no telling if he will ever be the quarterback he was three seasons ago.

But as a backup on a fantasy roster, I see reasons to take this guy. He's back in Cam Cameron's offense, with better targets than he's had in years. If the team can block up front for Green and Ronnie Brown, then I can see Trent Green having one or two more solid years.

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Fantasy Football News Update - Green and Culpepper