Vikings Make Announcement About Key Player Return After Long Injury Absence
Vikings Make Announcement About Key Player Return After Long Injury Absence originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Minnesota Vikings lost a key piece of their offense in Week 8 of the 2024 NFL season. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw, the team's first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, had only missed a handful of games in his young career up until that point.
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Unfortunately, during the Vikings' 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8, Darrisaw suffered a serious knee injury, tearing his ACL and MCL, which would sideline him for the remainder of the season.
However, the Vikings received a huge update concerning their starting offensive tackle as a post to social media showed Darrisaw back at practice and participating in individual drills.
At the time of the Virginia Tech alumnus' placement onto injured reserve, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell noted that "he's clearly one of our offensive pillars that we have leaned on a lot, and it's going to be a significant loss. But we've all got to do a little bit more."
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Over his first three seasons in the NFL, Darrisaw played in 41 games, but his injury-shortened 2024 only allowed him to play in seven contests. In that limited timeframe, Darrisaw graded 81.4 on Pro Football Focus, ranking 11th out of 140 tackles.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell.Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
In July 2024, Darrisaw signed a massive contract extension, linking him to the Vikings through the 2029 season. The deal added four years at $104 million to his existing contract. Based on annual average salary, the 26-year-old is the fourth-highest-paid tackle.
Minnesota is in the first day of mandatory minicamp and will extend to June 12. From June 16 to 18, the Vikings will reconvene for voluntary organized team activities.
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Related: J.J. McCarthy Makes Opinion Clear on Entering Second Season With Vikings
Related: Matt LaFleur Responds to Vikings Player's 'Be a Man' Comments
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
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