Zimmer: Vikings’ Starters Might Play Preseason Finale

Through the first three games of the preseason schedule, the starters for the Minnesota Vikings. . .particularly on the offensive side of the ball. . .have been slightly less than impressive. The first-team offense has generated just three points in three games, and even the defense got lit up in Sunday’s victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Head coach Mike Zimmer is, apparently, thoroughly unimpressed. . .so much so that the starters might actually have to break a sweat in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Miami Dolphins at U.S. Bank Stadium.

“I’ve made up my mind, but I haven’t told the team yet or anything like that,” Zimmer said Tuesday. “I haven’t told the coaches yet, either. After the other night, I feel like they should play, but we’ll see.”

Now, starters generally don’t play in the preseason finale, as we’ve seen over the years. But Zimmer can’t be thrilled with the way his starters have looked thus far, and though it might come as a surprise to see Sam Bradford lead the offense out onto the field on Thursday night, it might not be that surprising. The offensive line could use another opportunity to build some cohesion and/or iron out any starting spots that might still be up for grabs, and Thursday will be the last chance for them to do that before the regular season gets underway.

Of course, if Zimmer does play the starters and someone significant gets injured, all hell is going to break loose. But, my guess is that Zimmer doesn’t care too much about that sort of thing.

What do you think? Do you think Mike Zimmer will actually pull the trigger on playing the Vikings’ starters on Thursday?