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Vikings Ship Culpepper To Miami Pending Physical...
As FOXSports.com insider Jay Glazer initially reported, the Vikings and Dolphins have agreed on a trade, with Miami sending a second-round pick to the Vikings in exchange for Pro-Bowl quarterback Daunte Culpepper.

St. Paul Pioneer Press beat writer Sean Jensen is confirming the trade is for a second-round pick in the April draft.

The trade is contingent upon Culpepper passing a physical, and takes Miami out of the running for free-agent quarterback Drew Brees, who has already agreed to terms with the Saints.

According to Miami Herald staffer Jason Cole, the trade was completed after talks with Brees hit a standstill.

A source close to Culpepper told Cole the signal caller was on his way to South Florida from Orlando to meet with the team. Culpepper is also expected to be examined by team physicians to check out his surgically repaired right knee.

According to those who follow the Dolphins closely, the arrival of Culpepper, who even if he passes his physical is by no means a lock to be ready for the start of the regular season, probably means Gus Frerotte will remain a Dolphin for another season.

Either way, I'll have more on the Culpepper's status with the Dolphins -- as well as more on the condition of his knee -- in coming days as further details come to light.

In the meantime, I'll remind you that Dolphins head coach Nick Saban, who replaced offensive coordinator Scott Linehan with Mike Mularkey after Linehan was hired as Rams head coach this offseason, has planned all along to keep Linehan's system in place this year.

That decision could turn out to be more important than originally believed.

Culpepper, whose seven-year tenure in Minnesota included three Pro Bowl appearances, threw for 4,717 yards, tossed 29 touchdowns with just 11 interceptions in 2004 -- Linehan's final season as the Vikings' coordinator.

He never regained that form.

After a disappointing start to his 2005 season, Culpepper tore three of four ligaments in his right knee Oct. 30 against the Carolina Panthers, and his attempts to upgrade the 10-year, $102 million contract he signed in 2003 have been rebuffed by the Vikings.

Culpepper said last Wednesday that Vikings management sent him a "disturbing e-mail" that prompted him to request a trade or his release. That night, after learning of his e-mail correspondence to news outlets, the Vikings aggressively started shopping him to other clubs, including the Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders.

In an interview last week, owner Zygi Wilf told Jensen he had to change course from his original plan of keeping Culpepper.

"He seems to feel that his future is best served somewhere else," Wilf told Jensen. "We have to move on for the best interests of our team."

In case you haven't been paying attention, the Vikings and Culpepper have clashed since last November, with his decision not to rehabilitate his injury in the Twin Cities. Then, in January, he fired longtime agent Mason Ashe and assumed control of his own affairs, including attempts to address his contract.

Fortunately, the Vikings have no problem with veteran Brad Johnson as their starter.

"Brad is still our starter, and we're very confident in him," Wilf said last week.

In fact, new head coach Brad Childress, his staff and a remodeled front office were obviously ready to start over.

As the Associated Press suggested last week, Culpepper's style doesn't fit as well with the complex, high-percentage passing game that Childress brought from Philadelphia. In addition, his insistence on rehabbing at home both irritated the new staff and cost him valuable time learning their playbook.

Of course, there's also the infamous boat party he attended last October, which brought three misdemeanor charges of indecent behavior that he is fighting in court, claiming innocence.

The bottom line, at least from the Vikings' perspective, was that Culpepper needed to go.

In an article published last Friday, Sports Illustrated insider Don Banks advised readers that having lived through last year's Terrell Owens debacle in Philadelphia, Childress was in no mood to spend all year trying to placate the disgruntled Culpepper.

Banks added that Culpepper is said to still have a chip on his shoulder against Childress due to the 1999 draft, when the Eagles rated Donovan McNabb ahead of Culpepper. McNabb went second overall. Culpepper was then selected by the Dolphins with the 11th overall.

Childress is also said to believe the Vikings stand a better chance to win this year with Johnson running the version of the West Coast offense that Minnesota is installing.

As Banks pointed out, Johnson won a Super Bowl in 2002 playing in Tampa Bay's West Coast offense, "and he is one of the league's best at quickly assimilating terminology and playbooks."

For the record, the Vikings are expected to step up their pursuit of a free-agent prospect to server as Johnson's backup. Josh McCown has been mentioned as a contingency in past reports speculating on such a scenario.

Again, keep an eye on this spot in coming days for more on Culpepper's presence in Miami and the Dolphins' hopes and plans for the upcoming season.