Culpepper out for year
An already dire situation got worse for the demoralized Minnesota Vikings with confirmation Monday that quarterback Daunte Culpepper will miss the rest of the season with a devastating injury to his right knee.
Culpepper, a three-time Pro Bowl pick coming off a career year whose effectiveness had fallen off dramatically this season, tore his anterior cruciate, medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in Sunday’s 38-13 loss at Carolina.
Once the swelling subsides, the 28-year-old Culpepper will have surgery and several months of arduous rehabilitation. An injury of this nature typically takes a year to recover, but at least right now the Vikings are optimistic about his status for 2006.
“Our expectations are he’s going to be ready for the season,” athletic trainer Chuck Barta said.
Culpepper was hurt on the final play of the first quarter, when Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble hit him low at the end of an 18-yard run for a first down.
Veteran Brad Johnson, who played for the Vikings from 1992-98 and returned to his original team this year, will be the starter. Untested Shaun Hill moves up to second string.
Hamlin keeps progressing
Seahawks safety Ken Hamlin keeps progressing in his recovery from an assault outside a nightclub two weeks ago.
Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said Monday that Hamlin is “doing better” while recuperating at his home – a week after doctors released him from Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center.
Hamlin suffered a fractured skull, a blood clot near the brain and bruised brain tissue.
“The encouraging thing to me is the word that I got today … The headaches are not as intense,” Holmgren said. “They’ve backed off on some of his medications. That’s all encouraging.”
Holmgren said the team has yet to determine whether Hamlin will miss the final nine games of the regular season, which resumes Sunday at Arizona after a bye week. Holmgren did say the team is “closer to making that decision” on whether to place Hamlin on the injured reserve list.
Vitt undergoes angioplasty
Joe Vitt, interim head coach of the St. Louis Rams while Mike Martz recovers from a heart ailment, underwent a heart procedure of his own.
The 51-year-old Vitt had an angioplasty around 6 a.m., but was expected to speak at his regular Monday news conference, Rams spokesman Duane Lewis said.
“He’s doing fine,” Lewis said. “I think it was just a routine procedure. It had been prescheduled. It was not the result of any issues the last two weeks or three weeks.”
No action against Benson
An NFL spokesman said that the league would not likely take action against New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, who a day earlier lunged at a television news crew, grabbing a camera and wrenching it downward.
“It appears to be nothing more than a brief, heated exchange with a member of the media that was caught on camera,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.
Around the league
The Cardinals got good news when an MRI examination determined ace wide receiver Anquan Boldin’s knee injury was nothing more than a bone bruise. No timetable was set for Boldin’s return. … The Bengals put safety Madieu Williams on injured reserve, ending his season a week after he had shoulder surgery. … Gregory Hall, the fan who ran out of the stands and snatched a football from Brett Favre’s hand, pleaded innocent to a variety of charges at his arraignment in Cincinnati. … Simeon Rice, Tampa Bay’s flighty defensive end, was sent home before Sunday’s 15-10 loss at San Francisco. However, coach Jon Gruden reiterated that the three-time Pro Bowl selection will return to the lineup this week against Carolina. … Chargers rookie defensive end Derreck Robinson was arrested on a charge of drunken driving, nearly nine hours after the team beat the Chiefs.