Getty General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings locking down Justin Jefferson for four more years was a given considering the 25-year-old superstar’s historic start to his career — however it may not be so simple for star left tackle Christian Darrisaw.
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis predicted the Vikings to extend Darrisaw, entering his fourth season with the team, to a lucrative four-year extension with $87 million guaranteed, but there are some concerns about shelling out that type of contract to Darrisaw.
“[General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah] has said frequently that extensions after three seasons are hard to complete. The team and player have to sort through the two remaining seasons of the contract, and there remains significant room for each side to benefit — or lose — depending on the structure of the deal,” Lewis wrote on June 14. “The Vikings could also be cautious given Darrisaw’s injury history. He suffered two concussions in 2022. Ankle and groin injuries have also hampered his availability.”
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported earlier this offseason that the Vikings have had initial extension talks with Darrisaw. But with no deal imminent this offseason, Darrisaw is poised to prove it this season.
The Vikings have maintained that Darrisaw is a foundational building block for the team, if he enters the 2024 season without signing an extension and misses a significant amount of time, it will complicate extension talks next offseason, according to Lewis.
“Whether Darrisaw inks an extension or not may depend on his willingness to wait. Last year, Jefferson accepted some risk. He benefited immensely,” Lewis wrote, noting Jefferson betting on himself last season to strike a larger extension this year.
Christian Darrisaw’s Injury History Should Not Concern Vikings
GettyChristian Darrisaw #71 of the Minnesota Vikings.
Last year, Darrisaw played a career-high 15 games and recorded the third-highest pass-block grade (85.3) among all offensive linemen who played at least 50 percent of offensive snaps during the 2023 season, per Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Despite the injury concerns, Darrisaw played a career-high 15 games last season — a mark even some of the league’s most consistent tackles have struggled to reach.
Future Hall of Famer and 11-time Pro Bowler Trent Williams has played 15 games in a single season only twice since 2015. He’s played a full season only twice in his 13-year career. Laremy Tunsil has played more than 15 games just once in eight seasons. Andrew Thomas, who signed a five-year, $117 million deal with the New York Giants in 2023, has missed 11 games in his four-year career.
The position’s demands wear on even some of the league’s best left tackles, and in Darrisaw’s case, he hasn’t dealt with any lingering injuries.
Darrisaw underwent surgery for a core muscle injury in August his rookie year after a previous surgery did not correct the issue. Since sitting out the first three weeks of his rookie year, Darrisaw has missed back-to-back games once. He’s played 30 of 35 games in the past two seasons, which includes a three-game absence due to concussions in 2022 — a lesser concern regarding his ability to stay on the field.
Christian Darrisaw Could Push Vikings for Record-Breaking Contract
GettyChristian Darrisaw #71 of the Minnesota Vikings.
If Darrisaw can piece together another healthy season, the Vikings will be pressed to give him a record-breaking contract extension.
The Detroit Lions made Darrisaw’s fellow 2021 draftee Penei Sewell the highest-paid tackle in the league, signing him to a four-year, $112 million deal worth $28 million a year.
Sewell has not missed a game due to injury in his career and has two Pro Bowls and an All-Pro nod, compared to Darrisaw who has not garnered any awards in his career.
However, there is a logjam of veteran talent at left tackle that has kept Darrisaw out of consideration.
That’s not to say Darrisaw won’t reach that potential, and it appears to be more a matter of time.
He finished as the second-highest-graded tackle in the league by PFF behind only Williams in 2022 and ranked seventh in 2023.
He is on the cusp of being a perennial Pro Bowler at one of the league’s most important positions for years to come.
The Vikings should sign him before the market soars even higher with several other young tackles poised to seek record-breaking deals in the next 12 months.