Saints T Strief to miss time with MCL strain

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport is reporting that New Orleans Saints starting right tackle Zach Strief will likely be out a few weeks after suffering a suspected MCL strain during the team’s Monday night loss to the Minnesota Vikings
Strief, who is in his 12th season with the Saints, has been a mainstay of their offense since breaking into the starting lineup during the 2011 season, participating in at 87.7 of the offensive snaps during this time. In 2016 he played in 97.7 percent of the team’s offensive snaps only missing out on 27 of the 1,152 played.
Last season, his overall grade of 86.2 ranked as the league’s 13^th best tackle, primarily due to his strong pass-blocking efficiency (PBE measuring pressures allowed on a per-snap basis with weighting toward sacks) of 96.5, which was sixth-best among 61 qualifying tackles.
Senio Kelemete, who has primarily played at guard during his NFL career to date, with only 8.5 percent of his snaps at tackle, filled in for Strief and struggled, allowing two quarterback pressures and finishing with a overall PFF grade of 47.1. The Saints are already hurting at tackle with Terron Armstead inactive on Monday following surgery in the offseason.