Date revealed for possible Christian Darrisaw training camp debut

Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer recently discussed when the team’s 2021 first-round pick, Christian Darrisaw, could hit the practice field at training camp.

Since Rick Spielman was promoted to be the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings in 2012, the team has dealt with offensive line issues during almost every season.

With only two starters from the 2020 unit remaining in the same spot this year, the Vikings are, once again, heading into a season with uncertainty surrounding their offensive line.

To help fix some of their blocking problems, Minnesota used this year’s first-round draft pick on former Virginia Tech left tackle Christian Darrisaw. We have yet to see Darrisaw practice during this summer’s training camp though as he recovers from a groin injury, but that could change soon.

Christian Darrisaw could make his training camp debut for the Minnesota Vikings next week

As a rookie, the sooner Darrisaw can get on the field, the better. Right now, he’s missing valuable reps in practice, and the chances of him opening the season as the Vikings’ starting left tackle are getting lower and lower.

But at the same time, Minnesota doesn’t want to rush Darrisaw back and run the risk of him getting re-injured. So to make sure that he can at least be utilized at some point during the 2021 campaign, the Vikings are being cautious with their most recent first-round pick.

However, Darrisaw might not be missing out on training camp practice much longer. During a radio interview with KFAN’s Dan Barreiro on Tuesday, Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer said that he’s hoping to see the rookie offensive tackle out on the practice field next Monday.

The Vikings’ first preseason game is on Saturday, August 14 against the Denver Broncos. So if Darrisaw is able to make his training camp debut next Monday, that would give him about a week’s worth of practices to get ready before Minnesota’s first exhibition matchup of the summer.

If the rookie offensive tackle can practice for the rest of training camp and appear in at least two of the Vikings’ three preseason games, then him opening the regular season as the team’s starting left tackle becomes a realistic possibility again.

*(Update: Darrisaw ended up making his training camp debut on Wednesday.)