After he tore his left ACL and MCL in October of 2024, Minnesota Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw was going to miss some games to start this season. He made his season debut in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals, playing 38 offensive snaps in that blowout win.
Darrisaw then played every offensive snap against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4 in Dublin. In Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns in London, he was inexplicably off the field at the start of the fourth quarter as the Vikings were mounting a comeback.
Multiple Vikings reporters quickly revealed that Darrisaw had reached his snap limit for the game against the Browns. After the game, head coach Kevin O'Connell was clearly not thrilled to be without his starting left tackle at a critical juncture in the game.
After the Vikings' Week 6 bye, Darrisaw played every snap in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles. A short week heading into Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers seemed not to be a big deal, until he was listed as questionable for the game. The detail of the listing, not merely rest, but with a knee issue, invited more questions.
At that point, ESPN's Kevin Seifert revealed Darrisaw took himself out of the game against the Browns.
Darrisaw went through an on-field workout before the game against the Chargers, and he was active. Then he played just nine snaps before leaving the game, and he was unable to return. O'Connell's postgame comments fueled more questions about the situation on every level.
Darrisaw went on to play every offensive snap in the next three games. Then he left Week 12 against the Green Bay Packers early, and he missed Week 13 against the Seattle Seahawks. The game situation in Week 14 against the Washington Commanders, a 31-0 win for the Vikings, most directly led to him playing less than every snap.
Then, after reportedly experiencing swelling in his left knee, Darrisaw missed the Week 15 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The Vikings were also officially eliminated from playoff contention before they took the field in Arlington.
The Minnesota Vikings may continue to avoid the most sensible move with Christian Darrisaw
On Monday, per Seifert, O'Connell said Darrisaw will be evaluated each week to determine his availability for the remaining three games.
Hindsight is always 20-20, but when it comes down to it, Darrisaw should not have played this season until he was fully ready to go. Week 3 was clearly not that point, and everything that has followed starts there. That he took himself out of the game in London against the Browns says a lot, and puts some spotlight on the medical staff amid a season with multiple injury situations that seem to have been mismanaged.
Ben Goessling of the Minnesota Star Tribune appeared with Paul Allen on KFAN Radio on Tuesday. Allen asked Goessling if the Vikings should shut Darrisaw down, and "jettison this weekly cat-and-mouse game."
"The cat-and-mouse game has become something that is weekly", Goessling said. "And the fact we are still doing that, 14 months after the surgery... I think a lot of this for him is getting to the point of 'let's not have something pop back up that creates an offseason worth of issues."
Goessling then directly answered Allen's question.
"I don't think they plan to shut him down. The question of whether they should...it has an effect on J.J. McCarthy if you do it...I could see an argument for doing it. I don't think they're going to do that."
Shutting Darrisaw down for the rest of the season isn't ideal, within the idea of setting McCarthy up to be at his best, so a fuller evaluation of him can be attained. But the continued risk of trying to put your franchise left tackle out there when he's continually compromised physically is not worth whatever reward there is over the final three games of the season.
The Vikings face the New York Giants in Week 16, and MetLife Stadium's reputation as the worst field surface in the league is well-earned. Having Darrisaw play in that game on a knee that is clearly not 100 percent would be a level of malpractice that's hard to comprehend.
If he's not healthy, and we can practically eliminate 'if' from that statement, there is nothing to be gained by Darrisaw playing in the final three games this season. He needs to get healthy, without inviting a bigger issue going into the offseason. But it would fit with what we've seen all season to see him suit up (or be pushed to try to suit up) for one, two, or all three of the remaining games.