FanPost

Revisiting the Brees/Culpepper fiasco

Hello dear Dolphans, I just read ANOTHER piece on the Brees/Culpepper decision that, according to legend, doomed our franchise for the ensuing decade. Here's the link if you want to read it (https://www.phinsnews.com/miami-dolphins-news-remember-brees-hey-remember-culpepper-too/), and I really encourage you to. A lot has been written about that fateful 2006 offseason and its ramifications, but somehow lost in all of it is the fact that is was not just one decision, but two separate ones.

Hindsight, of course, is 20/20, and now we know how Brees' career unfolded after recovering from the shoulder issues that according to INFORMED MEDICAL OPINION were career-threatening: a Super Bowl Champion, owner of many of the league passing records, perennial All-Pro Candidate and a future Hall of Famer. Meanwhile, Culpepper, whose knee was supposed to be the lesser risk, flamed out of the NFL and must be weighing 350 pounds these days (just kidding).

Nevertheless, as others have pointed out before, there's ZERO guarantee that Brees would have had the same success in Miami. Perhaps he would have been reinjured here. Perhaps he would have been just an OK QB, not a great one, never being united with Sean Payton. Perhaps Saban would have still dumped the Dolphins, prompting Brees to demand a trade not wanting anything to do with the Cam Cameron regime. Who knows? So, regarding the first failed decision, we simply refused to spend our money on a lottery ticket that ended up being the winner.

Now, the article I referred to earlier points out that it wasn't really one decision, but two, and when reading it I realized that all along, in my mind, it was always a Brees/Culpepper choice, when in reality it wasn't, or DIDN'T NEED TO BE. After some research by yours truly, it's remarkable how terrible was the 2006 offseason regarding the available QBs. On one hand, the list of FA QBs that changed teams (besides Brees) is highlighted by Jon Kitna, Josh McCown (yes, the same one that just played in the playoffs), Jeff Garcia and Todd Collins (UGH). On the other hand, the 2006 NFL Draft produced Vince Young, and after him (buckle up): Matt Leinart, Jay Cutler, Kellen Clemens, Tarvaris Jackson, Charlie Whitehurst... you get the idea (as a note, we picked at #16 in the first round that year; Cutler went several picks earlier). So, long story short, there weren't many options available and Miami ended up trading for former Pro Bowler Culpepper, which would have been a sound decision except for the fact that he was coming off a serious injury, too.

The 2006 Dolphins, like the 2019 Dolphins, were coming from a season in which they were led by a first-year coach (Saban then, Flores now) to a record that exceeded expectations (9-7 then, 5-11 now). And they thought the next logical step was adding a QB. However, there was a THIRD option that was neither Brees nor Culpepper...

(Drum roll)

Gus Frerrotte. A journeyman (sounds familiar?) who did well enough in Miami to lead the team to a 9-7 finish after a 3-7 start and throw for 18 TDs/13 INTs. You had forgotten about him, didn't you? Well, the 2006 Dolphins had also the option of riding out the season with their veteran QB, CONTINUE TO BUILD A TEAM, and then find the franchise QB later (although admittedly the 2007 offseason was equally terrible in terms of the available QBs). But they didn't. And they went out and got a QB that was injured, and the rest is history...

Fast forward to today, the franchise is again at a crossroads. It has the chance to get an injured QB who could turn out to be a savior. Or not. Not to mention the fact that it could be necessary to deliver a king ransom to another team to have the chance to get him. So, what will Grier & Co. do, assuming Miami is actually considering Tua? Sacrifice valuable assets for an injured player? Stand pat and hope he's there at #5? Or will they forget about it, trade down, focus on building a beast of a team and finding a QB later? No pressure, Mr. Grier, but this is the most important offseason the franchise has seen in decades. And we will all be watching!


This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Phinsider's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of The Phinsider writers or editors.