Vikings legend pauses retirement to join J.J. McCarthy in QB lessons

Billy Heyen

Vikings legend pauses retirement to join J.J. McCarthy in QB lessons image

The Minnesota Vikings got a special visitor on Tuesday.

Amid a lot of quarterback question marks, the Vikes welcomed a franchise legend to the building.

Daunte Culpepper stopped by to say hello.

It’s got to be a cool moment for the entire Vikings QB group, despite the fact that Culpepper’s best years came when presumptive starter J.J. McCarthy was quite young.

All eyes are on McCarthy now, so hopefully Culpepper had some solid advice to give him.

McCarthy was the No. 10 pick out of Michigan in 2024, but a preseason knee injury meant he never had a chance to see the field when it counted. 

Culpepper, 48, knows what it’s like to play in the purple and gold.

He started 80 games for the Vikings, going 38-42 thanks to a latter-stages drop off.

At his peak, especially throwing to Randy Moss, Culpepper was magical.

He made throws and athletic movements that most quarterbacks couldn’t dream of.

Culpepper’s best season was 2000, when he went 11-5 and led the league with 33 touchdown passes.

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After his time in Minnesota was done, Culpepper finished his career up with the Dolphins, Raiders and Lions.

Now, he took the time to stop back at his roots. Minnesota sure hopes it has another QB with some of Culpepper’s ability and confidence, and if that’s McCarthy, Vikings fans would be thrilled.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle