The Minnesota Vikings‘ difficult night on Thursday, during which they fell to the Los Angeles Chargers 37-10, took another compounding loss when left tackle, Christian Darrisaw had to leave the game in the first half with a knee injury, and remained out for the remainder of the game.
It would appear that the injury is seemingly an aggravation of Darrisaw’s torn ACL suffered this time last year – with the former first round pick already having to work through leftovers from the tear this past week before being cleared to go as a game-time decision.
Kevin O’Connell Gives Up An Update On OT’s Utilization Moving Forward
Speaking to the media on Friday, head coach Kevin O’Connell gave an update on the plan for Darrisaw moving forward in the coming weeks, per Alec Lewis.
“Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell said hope with LT Christian Darrisaw is consistent Sunday-to-Sunday schedule will lead to more full workload.” Lewis reported on Friday, after the game. “Darrisaw played 41 snaps vs. CLE and 9 snaps vs. LAC. KOC said “there’s no preset number or management plan” but more CD making determination.”
It is not clear at this point whether this implies that the former Virginia Tech product will or will not play against the Detroit Lions in 10 days time on November 2nd. However it seems like, regardless of the exact timeline with which he is set to return, the Vikings will look to ease him in, rather than have him take on a full game immediately.
Vikings Offensive Line Remains Injury Hit After Darrisaw Setback
In recent years, one of the pillars of the Vikings’ offense – beyond the effortless play-calling of offensive wunderkind, Kevin O’Connell – has been the ever-strong offensive line.
The line play took a step back last season from the top-5 unit of recent years past, and Minnesota took immediate steps to rectify that issue this past offseason, signing center, Ryan Kelly and guard, Will Fries, to big-money contracts in free agency from the Indianapolis Colts.
The team also selected guard, Donovan Jackson, with the 24th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft back in April.
Yet, despite the upgrades, the line has actually regressed in 2025. The Vikings come in at second worst in the NFL in sacks conceded, allowing an average of 4 per game, and the unit was graded in at 22nd for the “pass block win-rate” statistic, which measures if linemen are able to maintain their block for 2.5 seconds or more.
Part of that has been due to injuries to Kelly, who remains on injured reserve, along with right tackle Brian O’Neill, and Darrisaw – who have been unable to take the field periodically this season.
In addition, Jackson remains a rookie, and whilst his performances have not been terrible by any means, he is still learning the game and feeling everything out as a pro.
Once players start to come back from injury and reach full health, the story should be substantially different for this Vikings’ offensive line, which will look to help the team make a run in the second half of the season in order to sneak into the playoffs.
Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Produces Update On Offensive Tackle’s Injury