CULPEPPER, LIONS REACH A NEW DEAL

With a $2.5 million roster bonus due on February 27 and the Lions possibly unwilling to pay it, the team and quarterback Daunte Culpepper have reached a new agreement. Per Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com, Culpepper’s contract has been restructured, and the February 27 payment has been removed. Kowalksi reports that a roster bonus is believed to be owed to Culpepper at some point during the offseason or training camp. No other details regarding the contract are currently available. Apparently, the Lions persuaded Culpepper -- who has no agent -- that if he refused to do a new deal they would simply cut him. Then, he would have been back on the market, looking for a new home. Last year, Culpepper languished throughout the offseason and into the regular season with no takers. Eventually, he retired. Here’s where having an agent can come in handy. In this situation, an agent could have determined whether a market existed elsewhere for Culpepper’s services. And if another team were indeed interested in giving him a shot, Culpepper could have played chicken with the Lions over the $2.5 million roster bonus. Maybe, if push had come to shove, the Lions would have paid the money. Really, what other options do they have at quarterback? Of course, such discussions would have constituted tampering by the other teams expressing interest in Culpepper, hypothetically or otherwise. But it’s part of an agent’s job to try to find out what’s behind Door No. 2 before going No. 1 on the current team’s offer. None of this means that Culpepper will be the starter in 2009. It only means that, between now and February 27, he won’t be cut by the Lions.