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Wilf plans $6 million commitment to Culpepper
Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said Saturday he plans to pay Daunte Culpepper a $6 million roster bonus on March 17 and tried to defuse growing speculation that the organization is going to sever ties with the quarterback by trading or releasing him.
Asked if he could definitively say Culpepper was going to be on the Vikings roster in 2006, Wilf said: "That is our plan, yes. Always was." He reiterated that point in two follow-up questions.
Wilf, who arrived Saturday at the NFL combine, initially balked at discussing the Culpepper situation but soon relented as he walked through the lobby of the RCA Dome Convention Center after being one of the few owners to watch player workouts.
Culpepper, who tore three ligaments in his right knee on Oct. 30, has attempted at least three times to secure a raise of his $8 million salary in 2006, according to three sources.
The Vikings denied those requests and according to sources called at least two teams, Baltimore and Miami, to see if they had any interest in the veteran.
While Wilf tried to downplay potential trade discussions, he did not rule them out. "I don't know," he said. "I'm not involved with anything like that. ... It could be just speculation, it could be other teams asking about him, it could be a lot of things."
Culpepper disputed the trade reports in an e-mail he sent to media outlets last Tuesday, saying Wilf had told him "the Vikings have not yet spoken to other teams about trading me." But new Vikings coach Brad Childress indicated on Friday during a news conference at the combine that there had been some dialogue with other teams, saying, "We've had inquiries."
Wilf said he read Childress' comments in the paper and agreed with what his coach said but did little to clear things up when asked about the differences between Childress' and Culpepper's remarks. "I don't want to clarify anything because whatever discussions I had with Daunte were between me and Daunte," Wilf said. "If Daunte wanted to report to the media what he thought was the conversation, that's up to him. I'm not going to paraphrase or anything [what was said]. That's between he and I."
Wilf claimed he wasn't disappointed with Culpepper's decision to make part of their conversation public. "Everyone has their right to say what they want to," Wilf said. "My personal feeling is that whatever I talk to Daunte about is between myself and Daunte."
Wilf, who realizes that saying he won't pay Culpepper his roster bonus will kill the quarterback's trade value, also explained his reasoning for being vague on some issues.
"You have to understand something," he said. "Right now is the combine, everything is very sensitive, everything is very important that we keep that low[-key]. ... Being a first-year owner, I realize it's very important to keep things during the combine and draft close to the vest. It's a matter of gamesmanship in terms of how you approach the draft, how you approach free agency and how you approach your own players."
Source: startribune.com
Asked if he could definitively say Culpepper was going to be on the Vikings roster in 2006, Wilf said: "That is our plan, yes. Always was." He reiterated that point in two follow-up questions.
Wilf, who arrived Saturday at the NFL combine, initially balked at discussing the Culpepper situation but soon relented as he walked through the lobby of the RCA Dome Convention Center after being one of the few owners to watch player workouts.
Culpepper, who tore three ligaments in his right knee on Oct. 30, has attempted at least three times to secure a raise of his $8 million salary in 2006, according to three sources.
The Vikings denied those requests and according to sources called at least two teams, Baltimore and Miami, to see if they had any interest in the veteran.
While Wilf tried to downplay potential trade discussions, he did not rule them out. "I don't know," he said. "I'm not involved with anything like that. ... It could be just speculation, it could be other teams asking about him, it could be a lot of things."
Culpepper disputed the trade reports in an e-mail he sent to media outlets last Tuesday, saying Wilf had told him "the Vikings have not yet spoken to other teams about trading me." But new Vikings coach Brad Childress indicated on Friday during a news conference at the combine that there had been some dialogue with other teams, saying, "We've had inquiries."
Wilf said he read Childress' comments in the paper and agreed with what his coach said but did little to clear things up when asked about the differences between Childress' and Culpepper's remarks. "I don't want to clarify anything because whatever discussions I had with Daunte were between me and Daunte," Wilf said. "If Daunte wanted to report to the media what he thought was the conversation, that's up to him. I'm not going to paraphrase or anything [what was said]. That's between he and I."
Wilf claimed he wasn't disappointed with Culpepper's decision to make part of their conversation public. "Everyone has their right to say what they want to," Wilf said. "My personal feeling is that whatever I talk to Daunte about is between myself and Daunte."
Wilf, who realizes that saying he won't pay Culpepper his roster bonus will kill the quarterback's trade value, also explained his reasoning for being vague on some issues.
"You have to understand something," he said. "Right now is the combine, everything is very sensitive, everything is very important that we keep that low[-key]. ... Being a first-year owner, I realize it's very important to keep things during the combine and draft close to the vest. It's a matter of gamesmanship in terms of how you approach the draft, how you approach free agency and how you approach your own players."
Source: startribune.com