Anthony Barr already missing practices

Following a dynamite season in 2015, Minnesota Vikings’ linebacker Anthony Barr had a severe drop-off last season. There was speculation that his level of play fell off because of injuries that he had been dealing with over the course of the season. Now, it appears that the injury bug has bitten Barr again.

Barr missed his second consecutive practice on Thursday with a hamstring injury. He was seen walking through individual drills, but was not taking part in anything else.

Barr had a pretty solid game against the New Orleans Saints in Minnesota’s Week 1 victory. The official Game Book lists him with eight combined tackles, and he sort of looked like the player that we all saw in his first two years in the NFL. I’m not sure when, exactly, Barr sustained the injury, but whenever it happened, it’s been bad enough to keep him out of two straight days of practice.

An injury to Barr could have a noticeable effect on the Vikings’ defense. Not only is Barr one of the starting linebackers, but he’s the one that stays on the field with Eric Kendricks when the Vikings go into their nickel packages. I’m not sure if the Vikings would use rookie Ben Gedeon in such a role if Barr can’t play or if they would rotate another linebacker in off the bench for coverage situations.

The team will have their final injury report out after Friday’s practice in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In better injury news, both cornerback Tramaine Brock and guard Danny Isidora were full participants in practice on both Wednesday and Thursday this week. They both missed the opener because of injuries.