Can Daunte Culpepper really step in and start with less than a week to prepare after coming out of retirement? Is Dan Orlovsky out of commission with an injured thumb? Could Drew Stanton contribute, even though offensive coordinator Jim Colletto said last week he isn't ready to play?

Coach Rod Marinelli has not named a starter. Orlovsky has not ruled himself out. Marinelli, Culpepper and Stanton would not reveal how the reps were divided Wednesday during the team portion of practice, which is closed to reporters. Stanton said he was told not to say anything.

Could the Lions put in reduced packages for Culpepper and Stanton and use two quarterbacks? Marinelli declined to discuss it.

Does Orlovsky have a fracture as well as a sprain? Marinelli referred questions to Dean Kleinschmidt, the Lions' coordinator of athletic medicine, and the Lions would not make Kleinschmidt available for comment.

"They sent the X-ray to the specialist in New York," Orlovsky said. "I'm flying to see him. I'll see him first thing tomorrow morning. We'll figure out more."

But we know this: Orlovsky didn't practice Wednesday and said he won't practice Thursday. Drew Henson remains on the roster, apparently so he can be the No. 3 quarterback if Orlovsky cannot play. And Culpepper is taking a crash course.

"I didn't know that he would get hurt," Culpepper said of Orlovsky, who was injured Sunday at Chicago, a day after Culpepper agreed to a two-year contract. "But everybody's got to be able to adjust and make it positive and move forward, and I'm willing to do that."

Culpepper, 31, announced his retirement earlier this season after failing to find an opportunity he liked - just one-year deals to be a backup in Green Bay or Pittsburgh. He coached the football team of his 6-year-old son, Chayse, in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

"After practice, believe it or not, I was doing a little running just in case the opportunity came," Culpepper said. "And thank God it did."

Culpepper said teams kept calling. He declined to say when talks with the Lions heated up, but he canceled a trip to Kansas City and visited Detroit last week.

The chance to start, he said, "definitely played a big, big role in my decision to play football."

But can he really step in and start in less than a week?

"I think it's possible; I think it'd be very difficult," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said Wednesday in a conference call with Detroit reporters. "It just depends on how much he can familiarize himself, how close the terminology is to things he's heard in the past, whether or not he can get his footwork in order and his hots and protections and all the different things that you've got to work through at that position. There's an awful lot to that position.

"It would be a heck of a deal if he can pull it off."

The Lions apparently think Culpepper can. They use the same digit system and much of the same terminology he once used in Minnesota. He apparently looked comfortable Wednesday.

"He seemed in control," center Andy McCollum said. "The stuff we put in today, at least he knew what was going on, made the checks, handled it well. ... They're obviously going to keep it simple as they can to make sure he knows everything that we're going to run. Obviously he's not a rookie or anything."

What about chemistry with the receivers?

"It'll probably be tough, but I think he'll be able to do it," wide receiver Shaun McDonald said. "He's a 10-year guy, so I'm pretty sure he's been around, played with a lot of receivers. I think he'll pick up our tendencies pretty fast."

Culpepper, a three-time Pro Bowler, thinks he can recapture his old form after a bad knee injury and three disappointing seasons.

"I definitely feel I can go out there and be myself now," Culpepper said. "I feel I'm 100 percent healthy. I feel great. I was told it would take about two years to be back to 100 percent, and it's just about a little bit over two years now so I feel good. All I can say is I feel good and I'm ready to work."

SERIES HISTORY: 4th meeting. Jaguars lead series, 2-1. Jaguars' only previous visit to Detroit came in their first season. They lost, 44-0. Lions lost in Jacksonville in 1998 and 2004.