Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress remains tight-lipped about who will start at quarterback between Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte.
Frerotte returned to practice Wednesday, splitting time with Jackson after missing last week's game against the Arizona Cardinals with a lower back injury. Childress said he's waiting to gauge Frerotte's health and will evaluate the situation in practice over the next few days as the Vikings prepare for Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons.
"I'm looking at medical issues here as much as anything," Childress said. "There's no downside to having both those guys playing well, coming in to replace, then starting a game and playing well. I think you just never know. Guys get knocked around, and you don't want your expectations to lower for this team when the next guy comes in."
Jackson threw four touchdown passes last week in the 35-14 victory that earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors in his first start since Week 2. He relieved an injured Frerotte the previous week in Detroit, completing 8 of 10 passes for 105 yards and one touchdown to help the Vikings rally to a 20-16 win over the Lions.
Jackson's performances appear to have Childress backing off his earlier statement that Frerotte, if healthy, was the starter.
"I just want to see how [Frerotte] comes out here," Childress said when asked if Frerotte was the starter. "I have two good quarterbacks. That's a good problem to have right now."
Defensive end Jared Allen (knee), left tackle Artis Hicks (triceps), nose tackle Pat Williams (shoulder) and kick returner Darius Reynaud (foot) all missed practice Wednesday with injuries.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
