After multiple days of speculation, the Minnesota Vikings made it official on Thursday when head coach Kevin O'Connell announced that Carson Wentz will start at quarterback on Monday night in the team's big Week 9 matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
O'Connell's reasoning for Wentz starting against the Bills is that Kyler Murray is currently dealing with a strained hamstring injury that wasn't severe enough to prevent him from finishing Minnesota's Week 8 loss to the Detroit Lions and isn't serious enough to land the veteran quarterback on injured reserve.
No one is doubting Murray's hamstring injury, but it also doesn't feel like a miraculous coincidence that the Vikings are jumping at the very first chance to make a quarterback change a few days after Murray delivered a performance that was frustrating enough to cause Justin Jefferson not to speak to reporters after the loss to the Lions.
Kevin O'Connell doesn't shut down the possibility of Carson Wentz remaining the Vikings' QB1 after Week 9
O'Connell has never been one to start a controversy with anything he's said to the public, but there have been times when some of the things that he chooses not to answer reveal more about what he currently believes.
Thursday was an example of this after Minnesota's head coach was asked about the possibility of Wentz holding onto the team's starting quarterback job if he performs well against Buffalo on Monday.
O'Connell didn't say "yes" with his response, but he definitely didn't say "no" either.
" I just think it's a very similar answer to the previous question; it's all about this week for our
team.
When you win six in a row, and you get to a point in your season where you feel the way we did coming off of the game, and quite honestly, we've got to move forward. We've got to flush
that, even if there's still a little bit more feelings to get rid of from last Sunday.
We've got to put everything we have into this football game and understand what it is, which is an unbelievable opportunity, even though it's going to be a heck of a challenge with one of the best teams in football coming in.
But they're coming into our home stadium, and we take a lot of pride in winning football games at U.S. Bank Stadium, and we know the challenge it's going to be."
So, essentially, O'Connell's served up his typical world-famous word salad that he likes to deliver when he's not too interested in providing an actual answer to a question.
It might seem like nothing to some, but the fact that he didn't just jump right out and declare that Murray will remain the Vikings' starting quarterback when he's healthy enough to return speaks volumes.
O'Connell knows Minnesota's fanbase isn't blind. He knows everyone has seen his frustration on the sidelines week after week after week of Murray not being able to run the team's offense the way the head coach would like it to be run.
So, if Wentz is able to help the Vikings' offense even look average on Monday against the Bills, don't be shocked if Murray's "strained hamstring" needs at least another week of recovery time.
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