In an interview published Sunday in the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, Green also reaffirmed his commitment to Daunte Culpepper, saying he hopes the team's 1999 No. 1 draft pick will become the starter as soon as next season.

"We cannot have Randall Cunningham at his salary," Green said of Cunningham's scheduled $4.25 million in total compensation. "The category he's in will not work for us in the fall.

"We would not have asked him to take a pay cut unless we had no other choice. But Randall has said no, and we're not going to ask him again."

The newspaper said Green ruled out releasing Cunningham before he is due a $1 million roster bonus Wednesday, emphasizing that the Vikings cannot afford the accelerated salary cap hit of $3.33 million such a move would create. If Cunningham continues to resist a pay cut, the Vikings would wait until after June 1, when the salary cap hit would dip to $1.833 million.

Cunningham was benched at halftime of 1999's sixth game after his standout 1998 season, which earned him a five-year, $28 million contract.

The Vikings have asked Cunningham to accept $1 million base salary in 2000, in line with a veteran backup, and forgo $3.25 million of his scheduled income.

The newspaper said that regardless of Cunningham's situation, George's future with the Vikings appeared doomed because of Green's plans for Culpepper, the 11th pick in last year's draft.

"Daunte thinks he's ready to start, and we're going to give Daunte a chance to go out and see if he is, indeed, the best quarterback we have," Green said from Indianapolis, where he was attending the NFL scouting combine. "And when we drafted Daunte -- picking him that high -- we thought he was going to be a very talented quarterback, whether that means he starts in the year 2000 or the year 2001.

"But there's no way we're looking at Daunte to play way down the road."

Green said if the Vikings sign a free-agent quarterback -- even if it's George -- that player would receive only a modest, one-year contract.