A day after Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell spoke to members of the local media, no one still really has any idea about if J.J. McCarthy or Carson Wentz will be the team's starting quarterback on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Some believed more clarity about the situation would be revealed on Wednesday, as it is typically when Minnesota's starting quarterback meets with the media each week. But the Vikings have decided to add a twist to the situation to continue the mystery surrounding their signal-callers.
Instead of just one quarterback meeting with the local Twin Cities media on Wednesday, both McCarthy and Wentz are scheduled to be available to answer questions after the team's practice.
Will J.J. McCarthy or Carson Wentz start for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles?
If the Vikings were just going to have Wentz start for the fourth game in a row, they probably wouldn't spend much time creating a bunch of confusion about their current quarterback situation, right?
Yes, Minnesota likely wants to make sure Wentz is still able to make most of his throws in practice now that he's dealing with an injured non-throwing shoulder. But it seems probable that the Vikings already know which quarterback is going to start on Sunday, regardless of how their three practices go this week.
With all of that being said, the arrow seems to be pointing to McCarthy as Minnesota's Week 7 starter and not Wentz.
Others have pointed out how O'Connell has emphasized wanting his young quarterback's mechanics and footwork to be sound before throwing him back on the field, so that makes it seem like Wentz will be the starter on Sunday.
But during his tenure with the Vikings, O'Connell has developed a bit of a habit of distracting people with complex and excessively long answers to questions that he's asked in his press conferences.
Does O'Connell truly believe a handful of practices during the next few weeks are going to drastically improve McCarthy's mechanics and footwork?
One would like to think that Minnesota's head coach is a pretty smart guy, so it seems safe to assume that he knows a few more practices in the middle of the season aren't going to be the difference between McCarthy playing in Week 7 or having him wait until Week 9 or Week 10 to return.
It's also important to notice what other players are returning to the practice field for the Vikings this week.
Left guard Donovan Jackson and right tackle Brian O'Neill both took part in Minnesota's bonus practice on Monday. Would the urge to get both back on the field be as high for the Vikings if they were just going to continue to have Wentz be their starter?
At this point, unless something drastically changes during the next few days, it feels like McCarthy will return to the starting lineup inside U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday to take on Philadelphia, and O'Connell is just doing whatever he can leading up to the contest to make it harder for the Eagles to prepare for his young quarterback.