Vikings lose Anthony Barr to shoulder injury

INDIANAPOLIS — Linebacker Anthony Barr injured his right shoulder during the second quarter of the Vikings' 28-11 loss to the Colts on Sunday and did not return.

Barr, the 28-year-old Pro Bowler, will undergo more testing Monday to determine the severity of the injury and whether he'll miss more time, coach Mike Zimmer said.

Barr remained on the sideline before halftime, not moving his right arm while supporting it with his left hand.

"It's a shoulder injury from what I'm told, and we'll evaluate him more," Zimmer said. "We ran out of linebackers there for a little bit. Troy Dye got hurt, and so we were scrambling there for a little bit, in the second quarter I guess it was."

The injuries led to Ryan Connelly making his Vikings debut just two weeks after joining the hometown team; the former Badgers and Eden Prairie linebacker briefly filled in while Barr (shoulder) and Dye (ankle) were sidelined.

Dye, the fourth-round rookie out of Oregon, returned in the third quarter and replaced Barr. If Dye continues to fill in for Barr, other responsibilities may be juggled because Barr wears the in-helmet microphone to relay play calls to the huddle.

"[Barr] is a good talent. Big communicator for us," safety Anthony Harris said. "We had to make a quick adjustment, call the next man up. Every guy who steps in has to be ready to go."

The Vikings also lost running back Mike Boone to a concussion in the second quarter.

Newcomers already were playing increased roles Sunday, with first-round cornerback Jeff Gladney and second-year guard Dru Samia making their first NFL starts.

Samia started for right guard Pat Elflein, who's on injured reserve and is expected to miss more than the minimum three games because of a thumb injury. Gladney took reps for rookie Cameron Dantzler, ruled out because of a rib injury sustained last week against the Packers, as the third corner in nickel packages.

Zimmer pointed to Gladney's illegal-contact penalty and one pass he was beaten on when asked about the rookie's outing, adding "hard for me to say" immediately after the game. Samia allowed at least one of Colts defensive lineman DeForest Buckner's four hits on Cousins.

The Colts were dealt a surprise blow when starting cornerback Rock Ya-Sin was deactivated before kickoff because of a stomach illness that had him hospitalized. Then, on the second offensive play, Colts receiver Parris Campbell took a low hit from Vikings safety Harrison Smith and immediately clutched at his knee. Campbell was carted off the field and didn't return.

"It didn't look good," Colts coach Frank Reich said. "I'll be honest with you, it happened right in front of me. It did not look good but hoping and praying for the best."

Indianapolis also lost safety Malik Hooker to an Achilles injury and linebacker Matt Adams to an injured ankle. Cornerback Xavier Rhodes, the former Vikings cornerback, exited in the second half because of cramps, Reich said.

Reich took a knee during the national anthem while many of his players stood and locked arms alongside him. Some Vikings players also knelt, including a few more than did so before the season opener. Barr, linebacker Eric Kendricks, running backs Ameer Abdullah and Alexander Mattison, and fullback C.J. Ham were among about 12 players to kneel.

"However you feel about it, you should express it your way," Barr said last week. "As long as we had an open conversation about it, we felt good about whether guys knelt or stand."