Give Vikings coach Mike Zimmer this much: He certainly doesn't suffer from the same problem as Ryan Lochte.

Whereas the U.S. swimmer piled a heap of trouble on himself last week by over-telling and embellishing a story (to be polite) about what happened one night in Rio, the Vikings coach has been characteristically blunt and short when addressing why QB Teddy Bridgewater didn't play in the preseason game against Seattle.

"Because I sat him," was Zimmer's answer after Thursday's game.

The problem, it seems, is that offering too much (bad) information and not enough information often leads to the same suspicious place. Just as the Lochte story is not going away, neither is the Bridgewater story — sustained in part by an ESPN report saying Bridge­water has a sore shoulder as well as the young QB not throwing a pass during weekend practices.

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. mrand@startribune.com