Culpepper Leaves Detroit Without Contract, Marinelli Doesn't Want to Talk About It

Daunte Culpepper left Detroit without a contract, which could mean any number of things: the two sides couldn't agree on salary, Culpepper came to his senses, the Lions think Dan Orlovsky is the future, as well as countless other quasi-believable scenarios. This doesn't mean Culpepper won't be signed by the club, just that it hasn't happened yet.

Interestingly, Orlovsky, who has managed to hold down the gig despite blinding incompetence, didn't even know Culpepper was in town. Or at least that's the story he's going with:

Orlovsky was busy running errands, enjoying an off-day and getting ready to prepare for another week of practice.

He insists he didn't hear the rumbles about free-agent quarterback Daunte Culpepper coming to town for a workout with the Lions. He didn't even hear rumors of Culpepper negotiating a contract.

"I have been busy the past few days," Orlovsky said.

And by "been busy," Orlovsky obviously means "practicing not running out of the back of the end zone during games."

As for Culpepper's situation, head coach Rod Marinelli admitted that the team is still talking to the former Vikings quarterback, but he didn't say much more than that.

"I thought he moved around good," Marinelli said of the workout. "He moved around good, good feet and all those things."

Marinelli would not speculate how Culpepper could help the Lions.

"I don't go there yet," Marinelli said. "It's just where we are. He had a good workout and he's a good guy. He's a really good person."

Does Marinelli even need to speculate on "how Culpepper could help the Lions?" I mean, isn't that obvious? Detroit's 0-7, the quarterbacks currently on the roster are all looking up wistfully at mediocre, and the team's second-best wideout was recently traded to Dallas. Seems pretty obvious, really.

That's not to say Culpepper is some savior, or even a long-term option. But for right now, he's probably the best choice for the gig. He's a once great NFL quarterback whose career was prematurely derailed by injuries, and perhaps more importantly, he's has experience for playing with for a chronically underachieving franchise.And that last point can't be stressed enough.