Christian

Darrisaw

Darrisaw left the Vikings’ Thursday matchup with the Rams late in the second quarter because of the knee issue. He underwent an MRI this morning that revealed an injury severe enough to require season-ending surgery, though Rapoport didn’t report the exact nature of the problem. David Quessenberry took his spot in the lineup in the second half. Darrisaw is one of the best left tackles in the league and signed a $113 million contract in the offseason. His loss will be a notable blow to an offense that has played stunningly well under journeyman Sam Darnold.

Darrisaw had his left leg rolled up on late in the second quarter of Thursday night’s loss to the Rams and did not return in the second half. One of the league’s better left tackles, Darrisaw signed a four-year, $113 million contract this offseason and had allowed just two sacks and nine pressures entering Thursday’s game. Backup David Quessenberry is the favorite to start for Darrisaw in the event he misses time after filling in for him on Thursday. We’ll know more about the severity of Darrisaw’s injury after the MRI.

Darrisaw got rolled up with the Vikings trying to literally run out the clock in the final seconds of the second quarter. He was then ruled out shortly after halftime. Not good. Extended over the summer, Darrisaw had been operating as one of the league’s better blindside protectors. David Quessenberry will finish the game in his place.

The Vikings picked up Darrisaw’s fifth-year option in the spring and now lock him up long-term. He gets $77 million guaranteed with an average of $28.25 million per year. At left tackle, Darrisaw has been the Vikings’ starter and ranked top-three amongst all tackles in PFF pass-blocking grade last season. Injuries have caused him to miss a few games throughout his three-year career, but Darrisaw has started 39 of the 41 games he has played. The Vikings have now locked up their second offensive cornerstone, with Darrisaw and Justin Jefferson part of the core that will help rookie J.J. McCarthy develop.

Darrisaw will earn just over $16 million on his fifth-year extension as the 2021 first-round pick will now be under contract through 2025. Darrisaw has started 39 of the 41 games he’s appeared in for his career but has never played more than 15 games in a season due to a myriad of injuries that have left him briefly sidelined. He started every game he appeared in last season and was one of PFF’s highest-graded linemen. Darrisaw earned an overall offensive grade of 82.4, while his pass-blocking grade of 85.3 ranked third-highest amongst all tackles (min. 300 snaps). We’d expect a long-term contract to be in his hands in the near future, but Darrisaw may need to wait until Justin Jefferson’s extension is secured before the team moves on to hammering out his deal.

Darrisaw missed Week 9 with a groin injury after being downgraded late in the week. He’ll be back in action this Sunday against the Saints, protecting the blindside of Joshua Dobbs, who makes his first start since being traded at last month’s deadline. Darrisaw has earned a PFF pass block grade of 82.9 through seven games, allowing 13 pressures and two sacks.

A downgraded status this late in the week is never a good sign, meaning rookie quarterback Jaren Hall could be without his blindside protection against the Falcons. We’ll get the final update on Darrisaw when the Vikings release their inactives 90-minutes prior to kick on Sunday.

Darrisaw was technically active for Week 2 but served only as an emergency option. Despite starting left tackle Olisaemeka Udoh suffering a quad injury during the game, Darrisaw still didn’t see any action. Udoh has since been ruled out for the year because of the injury, so Darrisaw’s return could not have come at a better time. He will get the tall task of blocking Joey Bosa in Minnesota’s Week 3 matchup with the Chargers.

Udoh started at left tackle for the Vikings in Thursday night’s contest in place of the injured Christian Darrisaw. Despite his injury, Darrisaw was active for last night’s game, which should be an indicator that he’ll be ready to go in Week 3 when the Vikings take on the Chargers.

As is EDGE Marcus Davenport (ankle). Darrisaw’s presence will make life easier for Kirk Cousins, though the Vikings will be without C Garrett Bradbury (back). That is not good news vs. a team with Philadelphia’s front-seven firepower. Joining Bradbury on the shelf are QB Jaren Hall, TE Nick Muse, LB Andre Carter and DL Jaquelin Roy.