Vikings Confirm Some Excellent News
Admittedly, the timelines are different — which is to say nothing of each individual person needing to sort through individual recoveries — but the discrepancy between T.J. Hockenson in 2024 and Christian Darrisaw in 2025 is notable enough.
By essentially doing nothing with Darrisaw — no trip to the IR or to the PUP list — the Vikings confirmed that things continue to go well for the stud at left tackle. No, a Week 1 start hasn’t been solidified with ironclad certainty, but there’s definitely reason for optimism. J.J. McCarthy may have his top lineman out there when the Bears are trying to ruin the passer’s debut.
Journey back in time to last offseason. Hockenson’s trajectory wasn’t nearly as promising. On July 22 of 2024, the Vikings shuffled their top tight end over to the Physically Unable to Perform list. On August 27 of 2024, the Vikings mostly maintained the designation, starting off the season on the PUP list. On October 25 of 2024, the Vikings finally made the move, activating their top tight end off of the PUP list so that the TE1 could get back into the game.
No such hurdles are in front of Christian Darrisaw, someone who evidently cleared training camp and the preseason without setbacks. Instead, he’s quietly perched above the left tackle position within the 53-man roster.
Vikings Confirm Excellent Christian Darrisaw News
To be sure, there are other Vikings who are sorting through some health concerns.
Rookie tight end Gavin Bartholomew hasn’t been able to overcome his back injury, creating uncertainty about the 2025 season in its entirety. Veteran fullback C.J. Ham has been shuffled over to the IR, meaning he’ll be out for a minimum of four games. One then thinks of Tyler Batty, Rondale Moore, Zeke Correll, Matt Nelson, and Jalen Nailor (among others) sorting through varying levels of injury concern.
But then there’s Christian Darrisaw, the fantastic left tackle who barely created a ripple within the world of Vikings news.
He’s (somehow) still only 26, meaning he could be offering top-tier football for several more years. Last year, Darrisaw was down at just seven games played, a career-low within his career as a pro. Otherwise, he has gotten involved in twelve games (2020), fourteen games (2021), and fifteen games (2022). He has yet to be available for an entire season.
Before needing to step away in Week 8, Mr. Darrisaw was playing at a high level.
PFF insists that he was very good (not quite elite). His overall grade sat at 81.4 (11th out of 140 tackles under consideration) while balancing strong abilities blocking within the run game and the pass game. The most concerning number attached to his name is the 5 penalties, something he’ll look to rectify.
Otherwise, Christian Darrisaw got dinged with allowing 2 sacks, 1 QB hit, and 10 pressures.
One wonders if his game will take a step forward in 2025. After all, the offensive line in its entirety is looking much more formidable. Starting alongside Darrisaw is rookie left guard Donovan Jackson. The Ohio State guard shouldn’t be expected to be flawless but he could reasonably be an upgrade, making Darrisaw’s job easier in the process.
There’s then the shift taking place under center. Seeing McCarthy surpass Sam Darnold’s basic passing numbers — most notably, north of 4,300 yards and 35 passing touchdowns — doesn’t feel realistic. Nevertheless, the switch to McCarthy could involve quicker passes alongside a greater reliance on the running game. These things make a lineman’s life easier.
Christian Darrisaw is stepping into 2025 with a cap hit coming in below $10 million ($9,681,765, to be precise). The cap charge is going to balloon well into the $20+ million range in the coming seasons, a financial cost that will be more than worth it so long as he’s healthy and back to his normal self.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
