Greener Pastures in Miami Are Only Temporary

It took a lot longer than I initially thought but Trent Green is now officially a Miami Dolphin. The move finally gives Miami a complete stable of quarterbacks with a healthy All-Pro as the starter in Green, a veteran backup in Cleo Lemon and a promising rookie in John Beck.

Noticeably missing from that list is Daunte Culpepper who won’t be wearing Aqua and Orange much longer. Culpepper, who was possibly one of the worst acquisitions in the history of the franchise, informed the media this morning that he is officially being shopped around.

"This morning I met with (general manager) Randy Mueller and (coach) Cam Cameron," Culpepper wrote in an email on Wednesday morning. "They finally notified me that they are going in a different direction at the QB position.
They would like to trade me in order to 'get something for me.' However, it is my position that I have already been down that road and I am not interested in being traded. They have told me throughout the off-season that I am under contract to the Dolphins.

"Therefore, it will be up to them to either keep me under contract or release me. In the meantime I will continue to work out at the facility with the team and prepare myself for training camp, wherever it may be."

Why wouldn’t Culpepper want to be traded? He’s pretty much mooching a salary from the Dolphins and is slated to make $5.5 million this season. I’d want to stay for as long as I could as well.

Daute’s days are done in Miami with Trent Green on board now. It was a failed experiment and Miami just needs to cut their losses with him because there are much larger questions looming out there for the 07-08 season. Like now that they have Green how are they going to protect him? When you invest in an aging, concussion prone, quarterback you have to make sure that the offensive line is able to protect him. Green will have all the offensive weapons he needs to be successful if the line gives him the time to pull the trigger. However, John Beck is one nasty hit away from being the backup to Cleo Lemon which brings another question to the table.

What is the time table for letting Beck try to earn the starting spot? Green is a two year – three tops – temporary solution at the quarterback spot. Will Beck be ready to take the reigns in two seasons? I hope so!