The head-scratching ceased when we learned the Vikes were bringing the versatile and athletic Webb in not as a quarterback but a wide receiver.

But now it appears the Vikings do intend to give Webb a chance at quarterback…at least according to Webb.

“The coaches liked me [at receiver], liked what I did out there and the athleti­cism I showed,” Webb told the Birmingham News when discussing his work at the Vikings’ rookie minicamp. “They also put me at quar­terback and had me throw the ball. They liked the way I threw the ball and now they want me to play quar­terback. Right now, it looks like when I go back, I’ll get a shot at quarterback.”

I don’t know how much of a “shot” Webb will really get at quarterback with the Vikings, but I do know they will need a third guy to take some of the reps in training camp behind Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels.

And who knows? Maybe Webb will knock everyone’s socks off. Maybe, finally, Brad Childress has found the young, talented lump of quarterbacking clay he can mold into the second coming of Donovan McNabb, as he wished to do with Tarvaris.

In five years, when Brett Favre is finally ready to retire, Webb might be the guy to step in and lead the purple onward into the future.