Minnesota Vikings right tackle Phil Loadholt, one of the team’s more consistent run blockers, was carted off during Saturday night’s preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with what NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported as a season-ending Achilles injury. Loadholt could tell the injury was bad, as he was visibly upset on the way to the Minnesota Vikings locker room.
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Zimmer added that, without having watched the tape, Clemmings played well and the pass protection was strong in this game.
The Vikings’ top priority in 2015 is better protecting second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, and suddenly their offensive line has a major issue on the right flank. “We draft these guys to get them in here and play”.
“I think T.J. Clemmings did a good job”, said Zimmer. He played offense and defense during his career with the team, but he really excelled while playing right tackle during his junior and senior years. He was cleared for practice at the start of training camp.
Loadholt missed the end of the last season after an injury, and losing him hurt the Vikings’ offensive line late in the season.
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Loadholt will enter the final year of his contract next season. Five of those seven missed games came last season, because of a torn pectoral muscle. Clemmings, a fourth-round rookie out of Pitt. Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber, working as a sideline reporter for Minnesota’s television broadcast, said trainers were working on Loadholt’s left foot or ankle.
