MANKATO – It's early. And Riley Reiff is expected back soon from an undisclosed injury.
But …
It must be at least a little disconcerting for the Vikings that Rashod Hill was the No. 1 left tackle Saturday when the team practiced in full pads for the first time this training camp.
When Hill made his NFL regular-season debut in the Jan. 1 season finale, he became the 12th offensive lineman and fifth left tackle to play for the Vikings in 2016. Hill had been with the team a month and a half after being signed off the Jacksonville practice squad.
"Well," coach Mike Zimmer said when asked for his level of concern, "we don't want to start the same thing that happened last year. We want to try and get through 16 games with these guys. Yeah, I mean, it's concerning. You don't want to get anybody hurt the first day."
Reiff left the field Thursday, Day 1 of camp, because of an undisclosed injury. He was present at Saturday morning's walkthrough and afternoon practice but did not participate.
Hill held his own against the starting defense. There were no glaring breakdowns, but he did false start once.
Offensive line coach Tony Sparano said he is not overreacting, citing Zimmer's comments that Reiff's injury isn't serious. As for whether being down a left tackle immediately in camp has a "here we go again" feel to it, Sparano said, "I'm trying to think like it's impossible for it to happen again."