Lions trade QB Harrington to Dolphins for draft pick

5/12/2006

DETROIT 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.

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 today 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 quarterback rating is a modest 68.1.

Detroit had been expected to cut ties with Harrington before June 15, when he was due a $4 million 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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