The Minnesota Vikings are rounding up the new players the NFL team acquired during the offseason and it looks like free agent Stephen Goodin is the latest star to join the Adrian Peterson-led group. In a press release on Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings revealed that offensive tackle Phil Loadholt was transferred to the injured reserve list following the Achilles heel injury the NFL star incurred during the game against the Tampa Bay Buccahneers over the weekend. The Saturday NFL pre-season match saw the Minnesota Viking triumph over the Tampa Bay Buccahneers .
With Goodin now part of the Vikings, the roster of the NFL team is composed once again of 90 football stars. Prior to signing with the Minnesota Vikings, Goodin had been part of the New York Giants an undrafted free agent after the conclusion of the 2012 NFL Draft. He then spent the 2014 NFL pre-season period with the Dallas Cowboys where he was once again placed in the trading block.
The injury of Loadholt will now force the Vikings to regroup and rethink their strategies. With the defensive tackle playing the starting lineup since he was drafted from the NFL in 2009, the Viking will need to adjust the team's stance and gameplays. With Loadholt expected to be out of the action for at least the entire NFL season, the Vikings are now looking at TJ Clemmings, the tackle who replaced the former during the Warriors match and the fourth-rounder rookie acquired by the team, to take on the responsibility. Apart from Clemmings, the Vikings are also taking into consideration the possibility of utilizing Mike Harris for the role.
Should that be the case, then Minnesota will be moving Harris from the right guard post to the defensive tackle area which would mean that the NFL team will be scouring the free agent list to find a suitable replacement for the NFL star. At the moment though, it looks like Clemmings has the job in the bag. "Obviously we're going to miss Phil," shared coach Mike Zimmer, according to Pro Football Talk. He added, "He's a great guy in the locker room and he's good on the field. But I feel good about the things that we're doing with these guys right now and where they're at."
Zimmer's presence in the field has provided a collective sigh of relief for the Minnesota Vikings as the coach opted to stay out of practices to attend to the funeral arrangements of his father, Bill Zimmer. With the occasion concluded, it looks like Zimmer is back in the game and moving on from the loss.
"My dad was very, very proud of me. I know that. He has told me that many times," Zimmer said in a press release. "I think my brother said at the funeral yesterday, one of the lines was that he never bragged about himself, but if the air conditioner repairman was there, within one minute, he was telling him, 'My son is the head coach of the Vikings.'"
Meanwhile, another first team player had been chomping at the bits to once again play with the Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson. With the thigh injury he incurred earlier this month, the running back is eager to return to the game but the Minnesota Vikings opted to keep him in the sidelines. To further ensure that no additional could be suffered by Adrian Peterson, the NFL team chose to not include him the roster of players playing for the Minnesota Vikings during the pre-season matches. With that in mind, it looks like the Vikings will stick to Jerick McKinnon in lieue of Adrian Peterson. It remains to be seen though, if the Vikings will keep playing the backup running back during the NFL season or switch back to Adrian Peterson eventually.
