The Vikings must’ve known Phil Loadholt had only a slim chance of making it back from two straight season-ending injuries.
Phil Loadholt was given a chance to show what he still had and it turned out he didn’t have a whole heck of a lot.
The Vikings re-structured Loadholt’s contract in order to bring him back, and gave him immediate first-team reps at right tackle in OTAs ahead of free agent pick-up Andre Smith.
Clearly neither Loadholt nor the Vikings liked what the veteran tackle showed in those early sessions, hence the news that Loadholt plans to retire from the team.
Given what Loadholt’s body went through the last two years, it’s hard to blame him for deciding to hang them up.
In 2014 Loadholt suffered a torn pectoral muscle that forced him to go on season-ending IR. Last year in preseason Loadholt tore his Achilles and obviously never made it back on the field.
After that double-whammy, Loadholt’s chances of coming back in any kind of shape to compete for a starting job at right tackle were slim at best.
The Vikings went into the offseason knowing they needed to upgrade their depth on the offensive line, in large part because of the uncertainty over Loadholt’s future.
Now we know it was a good idea for the Vikings to bring on free agent right tackle Andre Smith, though Smith himself battled physical problems in minicamp.
If Smith can’t go, the Vikings may have to fall-back on 2015 draft pick T.J. Clemmings. After being drafted to sit and develop, Clemmings was forced into action by Loadholt’s injury and ended up playing all sixteen games.
It wasn’t always pretty in there for Clemmings but at least through his struggles he amassed a season’s worth of experience. That experience will serve him well if he’s forced to start once again.
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As for Loadholt, it was a great run for the big man in Minnesota, and it’s not a shock that he’s likely hanging it up.
Despite all the optimism about the Vikings’ offensive line depth, you had to know Loadholt’s return was always something of an iffy proposition. Now we know how iffy that proposition really was.