Instead of waiting for a mid-season phone call from an NFL general manager, quarterback Daunte Culpepper decided to retire from the league after he was unable to land with a team.

The often-injured Culpepper spent nine seasons in the NFL but was never the same after a devastating knee injury in 2005.

Prior to that, Culpepper was one of the league’s rising stars with the Minnesota Vikings alongside wide receiver Randy Moss.

At the age of just 31, Culpepper walks away after completing 1,867 of 2,927 passes for 22,422 yards and 142 touchdowns.

Culpepper issued a statement regarding his retirement:

After taking a long look at my career and my personal convictions, I have decided to begin early retirement from the NFL effective immediately. Since the beginning of training camp I was told that my opportunity would come when a quarterback gets hurt. I cannot remember the last time so many QB’s have been injured during the preseason.

It does leave you to wonder how a scrub like Joey Harrington continue to bounce around from team-to-team yet Culpepper was never able to establish his career when he returned to the NFL in 2006.

Was it race or was Culpepper just that bad?

His 78.0 quarterback rating last season in Oakland, while not great, was higher than Vince Young, Tarvaris Jackson, Marc Bulger and Eli Manning.

All things being equal, Culpepper got a raw deal, and it’s a shame to see him out of the league at such a young age.

TAGS: Daunte Culpepper, NFL

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