LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — As if things were not already bad enough for the Minnesota Vikings, what with a four-game losing streak and a depleted offensive line, there sat Jake Long in front of a locker, head bowed, a pair of crutches by his side.
Backup Jeremiah Sirles, seated to Long’s left, reached out and put a hand on his teammate’s shoulder, trying to comfort him.
Long — signed last month after the Vikings put two tackles on injured reserve — was carted off the field after hurting his Achilles tendon on Minnesota’s final drive of a 26-20 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday, dropping a team that started 5-0 to 5-4 and making its present and future even bleaker.