Vikings Reveal Christian Darrisaw’s Status
It didn’t take long for the 2025 Minnesota Vikings to be bitten by injuries. After only one game, the group will be without various contributors, including some starters (Blake Cashman, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jeff Okudah), in the Week 2 home opener against the Atlanta Falcons.
Vikings Reveal Christian Darrisaw’s Status
The fan base has patiently awaited Christian Darrisaw’s return from his nasty knee injury suffered last October. However, Kevin O’Connell’s operation will have to compete without him for at least one more time, as he has been ruled out for the Falcons bout.
He logged a full practice on Wednesday, followed by a couple of limited participations on Thursday and Friday. The Vikings continue to take a careful approach, and, unlike last week, he’s now reached the phase of practicing on back-to-back-to-back days.
O’Connell said Friday afternoon, “Christian Darrisaw will also be ruled out for the game. [He] continues to do so many great things in his progression back, but he will not be up for this week’s game.”
Last week, Darrisaw entered gameday with a questionable designation, and the head coach was asked why he isn’t questionable this week:
“There’s some rules in place regarding the ability to go through the pregame warmups and see how he felt and all those things. It’s a grass field, a lot of nuances that don’t always go into that sheet or the layers upon layers of the designation,” O’Connell told the local media. “But it’s a day-to-day approach right now. Very collaborative approach with Christian, most importantly, myself, our medical team. And we’ll continue to meet Christian where he’s been from a standpoint of his work ethic and ability to work himself back in and can’t wait to get him back when he can. And that timeline continues on a daily basis.”
The next question on whether there has been any setback, he just answered with a brief, “No.”
He used a ton of words without saying much, which is prime coach speak. Darrisaw won’t play Sunday, but he might next week, considering the day-to-day approach. However, it can’t be ruled out that the top protector will sit for a few more weeks.
Rushing players back from injury is not a strategy the decision-makers have deployed under this regime, and star players especially seem to be sidelined an additional week or two. Just think of Justin Jefferson in the 2023 season, or in this year’s training camp, or T.J. Hockenson last year.
Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling reported on Friday, “Caught up with Christian Darrisaw in the locker room briefly today; he said again he’s taking his road back from knee surgery a day at a time. ‘I’ve still got room for improvement in my knee, and just things on the field,’ he said. The Vikings had made Darrisaw questionable for Monday so he could still go through a pregame warmup; he went into the night knowing he wouldn’t play. ‘It felt good just being in that environment, especially being on the road,’ he said.”
In Darrisaw’s Week 1 absence, the Vikings turned to veteran backup Justin Skule. The experienced blocker struggled early in the game, and he was the clear weak link up front. In total, he was ticketed with two sacks and four QB pressures by PFF.
There’s a slim chance, if the struggles continue, that sophomore Walter Rouse or last year’s starting guard Blake Brandel could get a look. The latter came into the league as a tackle. In all likelihood, the Vikings know that Skule is the average backup player. There’s rarely an All-Pro sitting on the bench.
On the bright side, the Vikings finally have a solid offensive line in general, despite the weakness on the left side. The interior held up marvelously against the Bears. Rookie Donovan Jackson turned some heads, and veterans Ryan Kelly and Will Fries were as advertised. Once Darrisaw is back, that unit will be fun to watch.
Expect the Darrisaw mystery to continue for at least one more week.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.