Andre Smith To Go On Injured Reserve; Mike Harris Won’t Play In 2016

Minnesota Vikings’ head coach Mike Zimmer held his first press conference of the team’s bye week on Monday afternoon, and he made a couple of announcements regarding the team’s offensive line. Sadly, neither of these moves will end up coming as a surprise.

Zimmer said that right tackle Andre Smith will have surgery on his triceps sometime this week, and will be placed on injured reserve, ending his season. He suffered the injury in the first quarter of the Vikings’ Monday Night Football victory over the New York Giants a week ago, and was inactive for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans.

Smith was signed to a one-year deal this off-season and won the starting right tackle job, but really struggled for the better part of the time he was out there. It would be a bit of a surprise to see him back in Minnesota next year.

In sadder news, Zimmer said that it doesn’t appear that Mike Harris will play at all this season. The Vikings signed Harris to a one-year deal this offseason, and it was thought that he was going to bring some versatility as a backup at a couple of different spots on the line (if he didn’t end up with a starting job). However, the team placed him on the Non-Football Injury list on the first day of Training Camp with an undisclosed ailment, and it now appears his season is over.

Zimmer also said that the team worked out offensive lineman Jake Long on Monday morning (as we mentioned they would last night), but the team was unsure about whether or not they would sign him.