Per ESPN’s FPI Index, the Minnesota Vikings played the fourth-easiest schedule through the first five weeks of the season. Fast forward to now, and Kevin O’Connell’s team is returning from their Week 6 bye to host the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7. Which naturally raises the question: Who will be under center?

As things stand, starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy is still dealing with a high ankle sprain and hasn’t fully recovered. To make matters trickier, the team’s backup and the starter for the past three weeks, Carson Wentz, injured his shoulder in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns.

While it’s not a common scenario, there’s clear instability in O’Connell’s quarterback room. Which is why, rather than giving a definitive answer ahead of the Eagles’ game, the head coach has decided to hold off on naming a starter.

“Want to see how this week plays out first,” O’Connell said, per Will Ragatz, the Vikings beat writer.

After his rookie season was washed away with a season-ending injury, McCarthy went down with a high-ankle sprain in Week 2 (1-1 record). Since then, Wentz, the veteran quarterback, has been running the Vikings’ offense and has managed to secure a couple of wins in three attempts so far.

In the process, Wentz has also thrown for 759 yards while racking up 5 touchdowns and a pair of interceptions with a QBR of 42.7 so far. But then again, there’s a wrinkle. During Week 5, 21-17 win against the Browns in London, Wentz had to exit the game for a brief time after suffering a shoulder injury.

Though the 32-year-old quarterback indeed returned to the game after halftime and completed 25-of-34 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown, sure. But Kevin O’Connell is clearly avoiding naming whether it’ll be McCarthy or Wentz to line up under the center against the Eagles. The silver lining, though?

Kevin O’Connell gave the green light to his quarterbacks

Entering Week 7, the Vikings’ quarterback situation looked “murky.” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero added another layer to it on Sunday. “The Vikings’ quarterback situation is murky, to say the least,” the analyst said. “J.J. McCarthy, I’m told, got good work during the bye week. He should be able to return to practice this week. But McCarthy is still not 100% on that ankle.

“They gotta see his mobility. They gotta see how the ankle responds. And they gotta make sure he is comfortable and in a groove from an operational perspective before they put him back out on the field.” But fast forward to Monday, and Coach Kevin O’Connell admitted that McCarthy will participate in practice in some capacity this week.

For now, it’s safe to say the Michigan Wolverines product hasn’t fully recovered yet. But with the Vikings’ Week 6 bye, the quarterback has likely made significant progress in his rehab. On top of that, O’Connell reportedly confirmed that, along with McCarthy, Wentz will also be practicing on Monday and throughout the week. As for the QB1 decision? That’s still up in the air. McCarthy or Wentz? That we shall see.