Lions trade QB Joey Harrington to Miami Dolphins - NFL and AP

Lions trade QB Harrington to Dolphins

NFL.com wire reports

DETROIT (May 12, 2006) -- The Miami Dolphins acquired quarterback Joey Harrington from Detroit for an undisclosed conditional draft pick, giving the Dolphins a fallback position if new starter Daunte Culpepper isn't ready for the season's first snap.

"We're pleased to have Joey Harrington join the Dolphins," head coach Nick Saban said in a statement. "We will work with him to get him acclimated to our system as quickly as possible."

The Dolphins had been searching for a backup to Culpepper and targeted Harrington, the former No. 3 overall pick who didn't live up to expectations in four years as the Lions' starter. Harrington had expressed his desire to play with the Dolphins.

The Lions released a statement announcing the move.

Culpepper, acquired from Minnesota this offseason, is recovering from a serious knee injury and may not be ready for the Dolphins' first regular-season game -- at Pittsburgh on Sept. 7.

The other two quarterbacks on the Miami roster, Brock Berlin and Cleo Lemon, are young and untested.

Harrington went 18-37 as a starter with the Lions. He threw 60 touchdown passes and 62 interceptions, and his career passer rating is a modest 68.1.

Detroit had been expected to cut ties with Harrington before June 15, when he was due a lucrative roster bonus. He'll likely be replaced by Jon Kitna or Josh McCown, both former starters for other teams who agreed to terms with Detroit this offseason.


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