Minnesota's Daunte Culpepper and San Diego's Jim Harbaugh were the starting quarterbacks for a Vikings-Chargers preseason game on Aug. 12, 2000.
CulpepperThat was a long, long time ago by NFL standards. Enough time has passed to encompass nearly all of Culpepper's playing career, and for Harbaugh to have held three head coaching jobs in the interim.
Culpepper, now 34 and out of the NFL since the 2009 season, seems an unlikely candidate to provide veteran depth for the Harbaugh-coached San Francisco 49ers.
"We're going to bring in Daunte in for a workout and kick the tires," Harbaugh told reporters Sunday."I'm looking forward to that."
Two questions come to mind immediately: Culpepper? Really?
The 49ers' plans to add a veteran backup for the regular season are well founded. Starter Alex Smith has had injury problems. He took a beating in the first preseason game. Rookie backup Colin Kaepernick needs seasoning.
If the 49ers added Culpepper, they could carry him through camp, see how he fares, then reassess later in the process -- after other quarterbacks become available through release.
The 49ers released David Carr earlier this offseason because he was making solid No. 2 quarterback money and the team didn't value him at that level after re-signing Smith and using a second-round pick for Kaepernick.
Culpepper would sign for the veteran's minimum, presumably, and without guaranteed money. He spent last season playing for the UFL franchise in Sacramento.