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purplefaithful · 04-02-2026, 02:37 PM

At end of the last season, it was fair to wonder what the future held for Darrisaw after a particularly frustrating return from an October 2024 knee injury. He was on the active roster at the start of the campaign but managed only 10 starts at left tackle, five of which he left early, and finished on injured reserve.

The Vikings did not look to replace him this offseason, although they did sign a formidable backup in restricted free agent Ryan Van Demark. In Phoenix, O'Connell was asked if he thinks Darrisaw will be ready to play a full season in 2026. O'Connell expressed optimism for him playing 17 games, although it seems possible that Darrisaw will continue to follow a maintenance plan that limits his practice time.

"With an injury like that, sometimes time is truly the only thing that will ultimately get us to where we want to get to," O'Connell said. "And I do believe we're at that point now. He's having a really good offseason. What that looks like, what his daily practice schedule and plan looks like, we're going to do what we think is best to get Christian ready to play 17 games and feel at his absolute best to do so."

ESPN

StickierBuns · 04-02-2026, 02:41 PM

The Saw should be better...don't forget Will Fries was also coming back from injury. Both should be A-1 and ready. If the Viking's draft a young center to compete with Brandel, this line should be pretty damn decent.

Canthony · 04-02-2026, 02:47 PM

I personally believe that last year, when shit started going south, they played it really conservative with Darrisaw. If he sneezed, they took him out. Just grab Connor Lew at C and we may just see how an offensive line can really dictate games. We need that for our newly acquired future HOF QB. Either way, or whomever our QB is, I just want to win. If it is Murray, lets go. I mean, JJ has been in MN and at Eagan almost every day. I would venture to guess Murray isn't that type of player. So, I am just interested in seeing how this plays out.

StickierBuns · (This post was last modified: 04-02-2026, 02:58 PM by StickierBuns.)

(04-02-2026, 02:47 PM)Canthony Wrote: I personally believe that last year, when shit started going south, they played it really conservative with Darrisaw. If he sneezed, they took him out. Just grab Connor Lew at C and we may just see how an offensive line can really dictate games. We need that for our newly acquired future HOF QB. Either way, or whomever our QB is, I just want to win. If it is Murray, lets go. I mean, JJ has been in MN and at Eagan almost every day. I would venture to guess Murray isn't that type of player. So, I am just interested in seeing how this plays out.

I like Lew as well. Underrated athlete, team captain, smart and tough as nails. 6'3.5", 310 lbs. Will probably land at a weight around 315-320 in the NFL. I'll take a middle of the pack/solid center thank you.

“A lot of the centers this year don’t translate into our game like Lew will.” - NFC personnel director

Canthony · 04-02-2026, 03:01 PM

(04-02-2026, 02:56 PM)StickierBuns Wrote: I like Lew as well. Underrated athlete, team captain, smart and tough as nails. 6'3.5", 310 lbs. Will probably land at a weight around 315-320 in the NFL. I'll take a middle of the pack/solid center thank you.

“A lot of the centers this year don’t translate into our game like Lew will.” - NFC personnel director

He is the real deal. His ACL, in my opinion, will be the only way he gets to 82. I think you have to take Lew in the 2nd if you want him. How he calls out defenses and runs the coverage calls is out of this world. He is super young as well. He is the real deal.

Mattyman · 04-02-2026, 03:23 PM

Why was Darrisaw playing in games and then pulling himself out because he couldn't go?

He wasn't 100% and it showed, unsure why the Vikings used him the way they did if he was still healing....

purplefaithful · 04-02-2026, 03:54 PM

(04-02-2026, 03:23 PM)Mattyman Wrote: Why was Darrisaw playing in games and then pulling himself out because he couldn't go?

He wasn't 100% and it showed, unsure why the Vikings used him the way they did if he was still healing....

Its a good question cause in retrospect it did look like they put him out their prematurely

Reasons/Rationale?

Skule
Rook QB and CD was best bet for max protection
What did staff medical team say
How CD felt at the beginning of a game vs Q4
How much did CD's perspective collide with Medical staff (if at all)

I could go on and on...

We all just gotta hope he's in a better place now vs y.ago (Fries too)

greediron · 04-02-2026, 04:13 PM

(04-02-2026, 03:23 PM)Mattyman Wrote: Why was Darrisaw playing in games and then pulling himself out because he couldn't go?

He wasn't 100% and it showed, unsure why the Vikings used him the way they did if he was still healing....

Because O'Neill got hurt as well and without a stud LT, our offense struggled to run and pass. Skule was outclassed.

*JimmyinSD* · 04-02-2026, 05:14 PM

(04-02-2026, 04:13 PM)greediron Wrote: Because O'Neill got hurt as well and without a stud LT, our offense struggled to run and pass. Skule was outclassed.

Didnt Skule look much better on the right than left? Maybe it wasnt a matter of being outclassed, but about being misused? Not every player can flip from left to right and vice versa.

greediron · 04-02-2026, 05:19 PM

(04-02-2026, 05:14 PM)JimmyinSD Wrote: Didnt Skule look much better on the right than left? Maybe it wasnt a matter of being outclassed, but about being misused? Not every player can flip from left to right and vice versa.

Well, yeah, he obviously wasn't up to protecting the blindside. But I thought he played LT for TB previously. I had hopes he would be a good swing tackle. And Rouse was the backup RT from what I remember.