New Orleans Saints Right Tackle Zach Strief Will Miss Multiple Games After Suffering MCL Sprain
The New Orleans Saints already had to make do without starting left tackle Terron Armstead for most of the season after he suffered a torn labrum during minicamp in June. So they were probably holding their collective breaths when right tackle Zach Strief went down and clutched his left knee in the second quarter of Monday's game against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Saints still haven't released an official statement regarding his status, but NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said it's believed that Strief may have suffered a medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain in his left knee and he's expected to be sidelined for a few weeks. And as expected, the veteran right tackle was not at Wednesday's practice.
After Strief got hurt, Senio Kelemete took his spot, and he's expected to start at right tackle when the Saints take on the New England Patriots this Sunday.
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"Tons of credit to Senio. There's not a lot of guys in the NFL that can come in and play five positions on the offensive line, and have impact like that. ... We put him in a pretty tough spot, and I thought he performed well," center Max Unger said, via The Advocate.
Meanwhile, the Saints are looking to add offensive line depth and they have reportedly brought in Eric Winston, Earl Watford and Dallas Thomas for work outs on Wednesday. The team also brought back Bryce Harris a day after they released him.
The Saints have options, but Larry Warford had to admit that losing Strief was a huge blow to their offensive line.
"Zach's a great player, great communicator. We all practice together and we all have the same coach. We're all taught the same stuff. Senio came in and did a great job. It's kind of next man up. It really does suck losing Zach, though," Warford said, according to The Advocate.
