As the Vikings got back to work Monday, following their first loss since Oct. 1, they were beset by familiar questions about a topic they'd rather not have to revisit: the health and consistency of their offensive line.
It was a common theme throughout the 2016 season, and one the Vikings spent $88.5 million (as well as a third-round draft pick) this offseason trying to expunge from their memories. By the third quarter of Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers, though, none of the players the Vikings added to improve the line — right tackle Mike Remmers, center Pat Elflein and left tackle Riley Reiff — was available to play. And it remains to be seen how many of those starters will be available Sunday against Cincinnati.
Coach Mike Zimmer said on Monday that Reiff's left ankle injury is "a lot better than he thought it was going to be." Zimmer said Reiff's ankle is not broken, and when asked if it was sprained, he said, "I don't know. You can call anything a sprain, so whatever you want to call it."
When asked if Reiff could play Sunday, Zimmer said, "Today is Monday. I'm not going to talk about injuries. We're not going to go there. There is no sense in starting already. I'll know more Wednesday when they practice."
Reiff's departure was only the latest blow to a line that was without Remmers for the fourth consecutive game on Sunday. Elflein was limited in practice all week because of a shoulder injury, and the Vikings deactivated him against the Panthers. Indications late last week were that Elflein might need to miss the Carolina game, but his injury isn't thought to be terribly serious.
By the end of Sunday's game, the Vikings had only one of their five starters — right guard Joe Berger — playing in his normal spot, and the team had more trouble protecting quarterback Case Keenum against the Panthers than at any point this season.
Keenum, who had been sacked just nine times this season before Sunday, was taken down six times, and might have been sacked on a couple more plays had he not been able to duck under defenders or slip away from Panthers rushers that overpursued him. He was pressured on 24 of his 55 dropbacks on Sunday, according to Pro Football Focus, and hit a total of seven times.
Since the bye week, Keenum has been pressured on 41.5 percent of his dropbacks — the fifth most in the NFL, according to PFF.