The Christian Darrisaw Verdict Is In
The Minnesota Vikings have had their injury struggles all year, and Christian Darrisaw has been the focal point of those injury news for the most part in 2025. After already missing three games in his fifth NFL campaign, Darrisaw entered Sunday with a questionable tag.
Christian Darrisaw Out on Sunday
He was listed as questionable on Friday’s final injury report ahead of the Sunday night game against the Dallas Cowboys. As the Vikings announced the inactive players, Darrisaw’s name was on the list and he will miss his fourth game of the season.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said about his star blocker on Friday: “We’ll see how he feels coming off of today. At this point, it’s about managing the weeks based upon how he comes out of the previous game, where that (knee’s) at, and then try to put together a plan for the week that gives him the best chance to help us on Sundays.”
Darrisaw had an unusual week that raised concerns. All year, he skipped Thursday’s practices while working on Wednesdays and Fridays. Whenever he had that rhythm, he was generally good-to-go.
This week, Darrisaw missed practices on Wednesday and Thursday, returning in limited fashion on Friday.
As the Vikings have been eliminated from playoff contention, there’s no need to risk anything. Darrisaw suffered his season-ending knee injury in October of 2024. He returned to practice in the summer, but missed the first two games of the season.
His comeback took place in Week 3, but he’s been in and out of the lineup ever since. Darrisaw also sat out the game in Week 13 against the Sam Darnold-led Seahawks. In addition to his three whole absences, he also left early in several others, and he desperately needs the offseason to fully recover from the significant knee injury. A torn ACL can linger, but the Vikings probably should’ve managed the injury differently.
The left tackle signed a monster contract extension in the 2024 offseason. He signed a year earlier than most. Star players often bet on themselves to raise their salary even further, but that doesn’t protect them from injury. Darrisaw made the right call, agreeing to a deal early.
Darrisaw is a cornerstone for the Minnesota Vikings, and he’s expected to be the franchise left tackle for years to come. However, he has yet to play a full season, and his knee injury is concerning. Giving him an early offseason seems like the obvious move.
Other initiatives include quarterback John Wolford, linebacker Chaz Chambliss, tackle Walter Rouse, and defensive lineman Elijah Williams.
Wolford will serve as the emergency quarterback and enter the game if both J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer suffer an injury.
In place of Darrisaw, backup Justin Skule will log another start. He’s been way busier than the Vikings would’ve hoped when they signed him in free agency.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.