We continue to be intrigued, and befuddled, by the case of quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who four years ago authored one of the best regular-season passing performances of all time, generating a rating of 110.9.

(And, yeah, he had Randy Moss for much of the year.  But Moss also missed several games, due to a hamstring injury.  In a Monday night game against the Colts, which Moss missed, Culpepper rang up a passer rating in excess of 120.  Six days later, against the Packers, Culpepper’s passer rating at Lambeau was 117.9, without Moss.)

The next year, Culpepper’s career in Minnesota was permanently derailed when he suffered a serious knee injury against the Panthers.  But that was nearly three years ago; though he doesn’t have the same burst out of the backfield that he used to possess when he was with the Vikings, we still can’t understand how a guy who has proven himself on the field suddenly is getting no opportunities.

As we understand it, Culpepper entered the 2008 offseason with three types of teams in mind:  (1) those looking for a starter; (2) those inclined to have a quarterback competition; and (3) those that need a proven veteran backup.

But he got nowhere in his efforts to land anywhere.  Though it has been reported that Culpepper turned down a one-year, $1 million offer to join the Packers, Culpepper’s version (as we understand it) is that the Packers merely wanted to send a message to Brett Favre, and that serious negotiations never occurred.

We’re also told that Culpepper was informed early in the offseason by one team executive that he wouldn’t have a chance to compete for a starting job, anywhere.

The question, as we see it, is whether the executive in question was merely sharing his opinion, or whether the executive is aware of a concerted effort among NFL teams to shun him.

If Culpepper is being blackballed, we’re not sure why it would be happening.  Perhaps his verbal spat with Vikings coach Brad Childress caused teams to sour on him.  Or maybe it was the grievance he planned to file when the Dolphins were squatting on him in the weeks leading up to training camp in 2007.

We still think there’s a chance that, because Culpepper has no agent, the various agents who regularly speak to NFL executives have been bad-mouthing Culpepper, because the last thing agents want or need to see is a new trend where players decide to go it alone.

Culpepper’s most recent opportunity came a couple of weeks ago in Pittsburgh, but he reportedly scoffed at a one-year salary for the veteran minimum, and he reportedly was interested only if he could compete with starter Ben Roethlisberger.

But did he really take that position?  Maybe the team leaked that one to justify their decision to go with Byron Leftwich; by not signing Culpepper, the Steelers took a chance that he’d eventually land elsewhere — and that he’d eventually perform better than Byron.

Meanwhile, we still don’t understand how all of the quarterbacks currently on NFL rosters are better than Culpepper.  He could compete with, if not beat out, Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman in Chicago and the three-headed clusterfudge of Boller, Smith, and Flacco in Baltimore.  He could have given Jon Kitna a run for his money in Motown.  In Atlanta, he would have provided a better option for Matt Ryan’s first year than Chris Redman and Joey Harrington. 

And while he’d never beat out Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, Culpepper seems to have more ability than any of the other guys on either depth chart.

It remains to be seen whether he gets a chance, especially once the regular season begins and quarterbacks begin to get injured.

Given that Vinny Testaverde emerged from mothballs last year, Culpepper surely deserves a shot this time around.