Vikings' Carson Wentz: Remaining starter for Week 8

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said that Wentz (shoulder) will start at quarterback in Thursday's game against the Chargers in Los Angeles.

Though J.J. McCarthy is expected to regain his spot as the Vikings' starting quarterback once he's 100 percent healthy, O'Connell conceded that the second-year signal-caller is "just not there" in his recovery from a high-ankle sprain, per Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. O'Connell indicated that McCarthy was able to go through an on-field workout Tuesday and may have had a shot at returning this week if the Vikings were playing on a Sunday, so the 22-year-old appears to be on track to start in Week 9 versus Detroit. For at least one more game however, the Vikings will stick with Wentz, who has been tending to an injury to his non-throwing shoulder since Week 5 but isn't expected to face any limitations Thursday. Through his first four starts, Wentz has completed 95 of 142 pass attempts (66.9 percent) for 1,072 yards (7.5 YPA) and a 5:4 TD:INT while adding 57 yards on 11 carries.