As a Whopping 40 Vikings Show Up to Training Camp, A Single Name Jumps Off the Page
No, it’s not J.J. McCarthy — though he is supremely important.
Rather, the name that jumps off the page is veteran left tackle Christian Darrisaw. The 40 Vikings who showed up to TCO Performance Center on Sunday, July 20th for training camp were mostly rookies. Some quarterbacks got tossed into the mix — McCarthy, Sam Howell — but the recovering LT1 is someone who people will be monitoring closely.
Among the 40 Vikings, Christian Darrisaw Stands Out
Don’t think there’s any exaggeration, folks, in insisting that everyone has their eyes on the situation. All of ownership, the front office, the coaching staff, teammates, writers, and fans will be wanting to know how Mr. Darrisaw is doing.
Basically every time there has been a chance for an injury update, Christian Darrisaw has been doing well.
Back at the NFL Scouting Combine — an event that gets going in February — Kevin O’Connell had a lot of positives about his starting tackle. The basic update: “Christian Darrisaw is doing really well in his rehab.” And then a bit more detail: “He’s having a great offseason, the rehab process, he’s absolutely killing it every step of the way.”
More recently, there was a quick quip about Darrisaw doing so well that he was launching regular people — NFL trainers — into orbit. He’s simply too strong to have him working against just an average person, even one who is accustomed to working with NFL athletes.
“It was just a matter of, he’s progressed to a point that,” O’Connell clarified, “if you put some trainers out in front of him, he’s probably, we’re going to have to go find those trainers after he throws them over the fence ’cause he’s that strong. So we had to get him back around real football players.”
Not too long ago, there was a bit of cold water poured onto the idea that Darrisaw would be ready in time for Week 1. If so, then Minnesota will merely be conforming to recent trends for injury recoveries.
T.J. Hockenson had to sit out for a while in 2024 despite insisting that he was doing well physically. Justin Jefferson missed a lot of 2023 with his hamstring injury. Could he have pushed things to come back earlier? Possible, but Minnesota tends to be cautious.
The Vikings are a team constantly in search of balancing priorities. Yes, the goal is to win it all in 2025, but that objective isn’t going to hinder their view of the larger picture. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s self-stated vision is to open a multi-year window. Compromising that window by being foolish with a player’s injury recovery isn’t going to happen, even especially if that person is as important as Christian Darrisaw.
Darrisaw, who turned 26 on June 2nd, is one of the game’s elite offensive tackles. The only real criticism of his game has been his availability, or lack thereof. He has yet to play a full NFL season since Minnesota pulled off a heist by drafting him at No. 23 in the 2021 NFL Draft. He put in fifteen games in the ’23 season, but that remains his highest.
The left tackle agreed to a four-year extension last offseason, one that’s promising to pay him $104 million. Only injury can make that deal look bad. His on-field performance suggests that every penny is worth it.
If Christian Darrisaw isn’t ready for Week 1, then Justin Skule seems likely to get the nod.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
You must be logged in to post a comment.