Just two plays into their preseason game Saturday night, Vikings right tackle Phil Loadholt limped off the field with the assist of the team’s medical staff.
So, it probably won’t be long until Mike Zimmer yanks the rest of his offensive starters from the game against Tampa Bay. There’s just not enough to gain in these early preseason games.
A sideline report on the broadcast by former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber said Loadholt was helped on to a cart with tears in his eyes as trainers worked on his left foot or ankle.
“He knows it’s something not good,” Leber said.
A starter since he was drafted in 2009, Loadholt was replaced by T.J. Clemmings, a fourth-round rookie out of Pitt. Loadholt missed the final five games of 2014 with a torn labrum.
The Vikings made a pressbox announcement that Loadholt is out for the game.
