Leftwich breathes a sigh of relief; Jags passing on Culpepper
When Daunte Culpepper was released, many thought Jacksonville would be his destination. Sometimes we forget that being interested in the concept is quite different than making something a reality. News out of WOKV, a local Jacksonville news outlet, suggests that after looking into the matter formally, HC Del Rio has decided against bringing Culpepper into the mix.
”I think it’s all about a player and a team finding common ground,” Del Rio said. ”I’m just telling you that at this point he has other suitors out there and we feel good about our quarterback situation with Byron Leftwich as our starter and David Garrard as our backup.”
Obviously this bodes well for Leftwich and his fantasy prospects. While Leftwich still must prove his detractors wrong by staying on the field for a full season, the fact Del Rio is willing to pass on Culpepper clearly shows Leftwich has worked his way back into the good graces of the coaching staff, and must have made a good impression on new OC Dirk Koetter specifically.
Footballguys consensus rankings currently place Byron Leftwich at QB23, and his current ADP is way down at QB27. With the Culpepper risk now seemingly abated, count on his ADP to creep up back solidly into the top-20, or even higher if he plays well and looks in shape during the early part of training camp.
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Interesting quote from Del Rio. Did anyone else read that as: “we thought he might be desperate, but since he’s not, we can’t really afford him.”?
Comment by Doug Drinen — July 25, 2007 @ 12:10 pm
[…] for you from the day he got released. Initial reports had him heading to Jacksonville, but that didn’t work out. He visited Tampa Bay and seemed a logical option there with Chris Simms […]
Pingback by Footballguys Blog » Daunte Culpepper: Signs one-year deal with Raiders — July 31, 2007 @ 7:49 pm