Life's a little quieter for Daunte Culpepper these days living down in Florida, far removed from his time as the starting quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings. Culpepper isn't around the Vikings as much as he was during his playing career, but he still keeps up with his former team, especially when it comes to Minnesota's current starting signal-caller, J.J. McCarthy.
"He's very sharp, and I like that about him," Culpepper said in a recent conversation with The Viking Age. "I think he's a phenomenal player, and I know he's chomping at the bit to get out there and
show a lot of the naysayers that they're wrong."
After sitting out the entire 2024 campaign with a knee injury, McCarthy is currently preparing to enter the second season of his NFL career as the Vikings' starting quarterback. Having traveled down a similar path in the early part of his tenure in the league, Culpepper can relate to what McCarthy is going through this year more than almost any other person on the planet.
Former Minnesota Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper has "all the confidence in the world" in J.J. McCarthy
Like McCarthy's, Culpepper's career with Minnesota began on the bench. After the team selected him with the 11th overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, he spent the majority of his rookie season learning from sidelines and inside a quarterback room that was led by veterans Randall Cunningham and Jeff George.
It was a big change for Culpepper, who spent all four years of his college career at Central Florida as a starter. But he did his best to make the most of his rookie season with the Vikings, even if it didn't include much playing time.
"I think being a player that was used to being the guy, used to being on the field, that aspect was a little difficult for me. I did have to adjust. But I also knew that I wanted to be prepared, and that's what [former Vikings head coach] Dennis Green would always talk to me about.
He's like, 'Yeah, you're our first-round pick, but my plan for you is to make sure when you step on the field, you are as prepared as possible.'
He wanted me to take that time in my rookie year to really study the game. Study [Randall] Cunningham, study Jeff George, learn how they approach the game, and then add in what I do well, and hopefully be as prepared as I possibly can."
Due to his injury, McCarthy had no other choice than to spend his first year in the NFL learning as much as he could from Minnesota's players and coaches. Culpepper had a similar experience during his rookie season with the Vikings.
"It was great. I was kind of like a sponge," said Culpepper, "I wasn't a guy that was bothering Jeff and bothering Randall a lot. I didn't want to do that. But I observed them very, very closely, and I watched them, and I learned a lot. I learned how they got ready, and it ultimately helped me. It definitely was a positive."
After McCarthy was drafted by Minnesota last year, he and Culpepper had the chance to meet in person, and the former Vikings quarterback took the opportunity to share some advice with the young passer.
"He asked me, 'What do you think about my situation?' I said, 'It's kind of similar to what I went through.' And he was like, 'Man, I don't know.' I said, 'Well, listen, just know this. They brought you here for a reason. They drafted you in the first round. That's very important. They brought you here to be a player and you're a great player. So just make sure you are as prepared as possible.'
And he took that, and I told him, 'Man, just do your thing.'"
While there are some out there who have their doubts about McCarthy stepping in as Minnesota's starting quarterback next season, Culpepper isn't one of them.
"I have all the confidence in the world in him," said the former Vikings quarterback. "I think he's a phenomenal player."
Culpepper got his first opportunity to start for Minnesota in 2000, and during that season, he immediately proved why the team drafted him with a first-round pick. That year, he helped lead the Vikings to an 11-5 record and an appearance in the NFC Championship by throwing for 3,937 yards and 33 touchdowns while also adding another 470 yards and seven scores on the ground.
Culpepper will be the first to say that his early success with Minnesota wasn't entirely accomplished on his own. During that 2000 season with the Vikings, his backup was Bubby Brister, a veteran quarterback with more than a decade of experience in the NFL who won two Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998 with the Denver Broncos before signing with Minnesota in the 2000 offseason.
When asked about how much of an impact Brister had on his performance for the Vikings in 2000, Culpepper didn't hesitate for a second before giving his answer.
"Huge. Huge positive for me. Bubby was a perfect fit for me," said Culpepper. "He was like a coach on the field. Every game, every timeout, every situation, he was able to give me a different view about something or get me to think of something else. And he just tells me, 'Hey, man, you're doing what you need to do. Don't listen to all that other stuff.' Just a little bit of support like that was huge, and I appreciated him."
Minnesota adding another veteran quarterback to the fold for McCarthy to learn from, just as Culpepper did with Brister, is something that has been a big topic of conversation this offseason. Based on Culpepper's experience, it seems like a no-brainer decision for the Vikings to make this year.
It's possible that Minnesota is comfortable with entering next season with Brett Rypien as the team's No. 2 signal-caller behind McCarthy. But if the Vikings want their young quarterback to be as successful as possible in 2025, adding someone with a more extensive history of starting in the NFL like a Ryan Tannehill or Carson Wentz might be the better route to take.
Along with the potential search for another veteran quarterback, Minnesota has poured a significant amount of resources into literally beefing up the team's rushing attack this offseason.
During the last few weeks, the Vikings revamped the interior of their offensive line by signing guard Will Fries and center Ryan Kelly in free agency, they re-signed veteran running back Aaron Jones after he put together a stellar season with Minnesota in 2024, and they improved the physicality of the team's offensive backfield by acquiring running back Jordan Mason in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers.
Nothing could potentially help McCarthy more in his first season as a starter than if the Vikings were able to actually have a reliable rushing attack, and that's something that Culpepper knows all about.
While many likely remember a bunch of the passes Culpepper threw to Randy Moss and Cris Carter in the 2000 season, Minnesota's rushing offense was actually one of the best in the NFL that year. Led by Pro Bowl running back Robert Smith, the Vikings ranked sixth in the league in 2000 in rushing yards per game and first in yards gained per rushing attempt.
"It takes a lot of pressure off your quarterback anytime you can run the football," said Culpepper. "If [the Vikings] are smart, which I know they are, they're going to make sure that the running game is solid. Because once your running game is solid, it opens up everything else."
With players like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson on the roster, Minnesota has a chance to have a very good passing attack in 2025. But Culpepper knows that a strong rushing offense will make life so much easier for McCarthy whenever he drops back to pass next season.
"If the defensive line and their front seven can stop your running game and you don't have to get those safeties involved, you're going to have a long day on offense. But if those safeties are going to plug their nose in there because they know they don't want to get gassed in the running game, [then] you're going to have the big plays that you want."
Culpepper knows McCarthy is going to have a lot of pressure on his shoulders to succeed in 2025, especially after the Vikings won 14 games last season. But Minnesota's newest starting quarterback is no stranger to the pressure. He played in plenty of big games in his college career at Michigan, including a National Championship that he helped the school win in his final season.
"Keep doing what you've been doing throughout your life to be successful. Keep that same work ethic," says Culpepper. "Just keep doing what you've been doing to get there and enjoy every second of it."
That's the goal for the Vikings and their fan base. Give McCarthy the keys an hopefully enjoy every second of his career in purple.