Rex Culpepper, the former Syracuse Orange quarterback and eldest son of retired NFL defensive tackle Brad Culpepper, died over the weekend at 28 after a dirt-bike crash in Georgia. His fiancée, Savanna Morgan, confirmed his death in a deeply emotional Instagram post. The two had gotten engaged less than a month ago.
According to FOX 13 Tampa Bay, Syracuse’s football program shared the news publicly on X, writing, "Our Orange family mourns the loss of Rex Culpepper, who passed away this weekend at the age of 28." The outlet reports that Morgan posted photos and videos of the couple together, while also noting that Culpepper spent most of his Syracuse career as a backup before earning more snaps later on.
Battle with cancer and his on-field numbers
Per Syracuse University Athletics, Culpepper appeared in 30 games for the Orange, 16 of them at quarterback, and finished his college career 139-for-266 passing for 1,546 yards and 11 touchdowns.
His time at Syracuse was marked by more than football. In March 2018 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and he underwent chemotherapy. ESPN reported that he was declared cancer free in June 2018.
Tampa roots and reactions
Culpepper grew up in Tampa and starred at Plant High School, a local football powerhouse. His father, Brad, played nine seasons in the NFL, including multiple years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to NFL.com.
In both Central New York and Tampa, friends, former teammates and coaches have been sharing tributes and messages of condolence as the Culpepper family absorbs a loss that hits hard in two football communities that watched Rex grow up, fight cancer and return to the field.
