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In case you haven't heard, quarterback Dante Culpepper filed his retirement papers with the NFL. He is the lastest member of that once-fabled 1999 quarterback draft class to flame out, joining Tim Couch, Akili Smith and Cade McNown. At least Culpepper actually did something in the NFL. He had some very good years in Minnesota. His best was in 2004 when he had 39 touchdown passes and finished second to Peyton Manning in the NFL MVP voting. And for a 260-pound quarterback Culpepper was always a threat as a runner.

However Culpepper was never as good again. Acting as his own agent, he argued for more money. He also lost Randy Moss to Oakland and then suffered a career-threatening knee injury in 2005.

But I think Culpepper could have had some success in Miami if he didn't rush back on the field the following year. He showed flashes last season in Oakland, but he was not the same player.

Culpepper isn't retiring because he was a man without a team. But that was his choice. Green Bay and Pittsburgh offered him one-year contracts, but he didn't find them suitable. So Culpepper is retired. It was good while it lasted.

---Allen Wilson