The Vikings bumped rookie T.J. Clemmings up to the first team after right tackle Phil Loadholt’s torn Achilles, a move that shored up their starting line but left them shorter on depth heading into the regular season.
That depth has taken another hit. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Wednesday that tackle Carter Bykowski needed to have shoulder surgery, although multiple reports are that Bykowski actually tore his pectoral muscle and that he will miss the 2015 season as a result.
It’s the fifth time a Vikings player has torn his pectoral in the last year, a trend that Zimmer said earlier this summer that the Vikings have worked to figure out how to do a better job of preventing them.